A haze of dust blankets the Athens skyline in a file photo. Scientists warn of the long-term dangers of more intense transference incidents to public health. [AMNA]
Already suffering from a shortage of greenery and open space and an abundance of concrete and cars, our cities are now also having to contend with more dust, according to a new study.
Carried out by a team of Greek and foreign scientists, the study by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland found a significant increase in the amount of dust that travels from North Africa to every part of Europe, though mostly to its south. Climate change is squarely to blame for the problem, as decreasing precipitation in the Sahara Desert creates favorable conditions for the transportation of dust, while the scientists also found evidence that the phenomenon is intensifying.
The study, titled “Rising dust pollution across Europe in a changing climate,” was recently published in the scientific journal Nature, and includes contributions from five Greek scientists: Petros Vasilakos from the PSI, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Manousos Manousakas and Konstantinos Eleftheriadis from the Demokritos Center for Scientific Research, and Maria Tsagkaraki from the University of Crete.
