- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- The Glimpse Group Regains Compliance with NASDAQ
- Sokoman Minerals Completes Phase 1 Diamond Drilling Program Fleur de Lys Gold Project, NW Newfoundland
- Canadian Government Provides C$100 Million Financing LOI to Green Technology Metals in Support of Electric Royalties' Flagship Lithium Royalty Asset in Ontario
- Sendero Resources Announces First Tranche Closing of Its Non-Brokered Private Placement
- EVSX Completes Installation of Multi Chemistry Line
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 24
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
RBGPF | -1.17% | 59.8 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.28% | 7.25 | $ | |
RIO | -0.14% | 59.15 | $ | |
RELX | 0.24% | 45.7 | $ | |
CMSC | -1.11% | 23.64 | $ | |
NGG | -0.58% | 58.68 | $ | |
SCS | 0.34% | 11.69 | $ | |
GSK | -0.1% | 34.025 | $ | |
BTI | -0.01% | 36.215 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.58% | 23.414 | $ | |
VOD | 0.71% | 8.43 | $ | |
AZN | -0.4% | 66.365 | $ | |
BP | 0.16% | 28.795 | $ | |
BCE | 0.35% | 22.92 | $ | |
BCC | 0.37% | 122.69 | $ | |
JRI | 0.25% | 12.13 | $ |
Athens chokes in clouds of Sahara dust
Athenians are choking in clouds of thick dust blown in from the Sahara along with unseasonably warm weather, weather forecasters and doctors warned on Thursday.
The haze covering the Greek capital comes from southerly winds that blow dust from North Africa across the eastern Mediterranean from March to April, the head of the Greek meteorological service Theodoros Kolydas said on X, formerly Twitter.
"A typical sandstorm with a range of 200 kilometres (about 120 miles) carries 20 to 30 million tonnes of dust and sometimes as much as 100 million," he wrote.
The city regularly experiences such sandstorms but the current one is accompanied by unusually high spring temperatures, heightening the choking effect.
Wednesday saw the highest March temperature in central Athens since 2009 -- 25.3 degrees Celsius (77.5 Fahrenheit).
Further south on the island of Crete, the temperature reached 32 Celsius.
The Greek Pulmonologists' Union advised asthma sufferers and other vulnerable people to avoid "unnecessary movements and outdoor sports during the times of highest dust concentration".
It warned that the dust can be mixed with pollen, bacteria and fungi, "a highly toxic mixture that is dangerous for the human body, particularly the respiratory system".
Scientists say climate change caused by human burning of fossil fuels is raising the risk of extreme weather events, including heatwaves and droughts.
The weather service said the dust clouds were expected to dissipate from Friday.
A.Jones--AMWN