Skies of Greece turn eerie red as African dust storm moves through
A storm in Libya kicked up the dust before it was carried across the Mediterranean Sea.
Dust storm turns skies red in Greece
A dust storm that moved across Greece on Tuesday turned the skies red.
ATHENS – The skies over Greece turned an eerie shade of red Tuesday as dust stirred up by a storm in Africa moved across the Balkan Peninsula.
Video and photos showed the otherworldly scene unfolding in the country’s capital of Athens on Tuesday.
The skies get their red appearance from dust particles filtering out shorter wavelengths of light.
WHEEZING AND SNIFFLING? IT COULD BE SAHARAN DUST
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Image 1 of 14A dust cloud from the Sahara Desert in Africa covers the Acropolis on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 2 of 14A general view as dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 3 of 14People sit on Tourkovounia hill overlooking the city of Athens, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust to the city, in Athens, on April 23, 2024. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 4 of 14People sit on Tourkovounia hill overlooking the city of Athens, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust to the city, in Athens, on April 23, 2024. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 5 of 14This photograph taken on April 23, 2024, in Athens shows a view of the city of Athens shrouded in haze, as southerly winds carried waves of dust to the city. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 6 of 14This photograph taken on April 23, 2024, in Athens shows a view of the city of Athens shrouded in haze, as southerly winds carried waves of dust to the city. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 7 of 14ATHENS, GREECE - APRIL 23: Dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city in orange haze in Athens, Greece on April 23, 2024. (Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 8 of 14ATHENS, GREECE - APRIL 23: Dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city in orange haze in Athens, Greece on April 23, 2024. (Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 9 of 14A dust cloud from the Sahara Desert in Africa covers the Acropolis on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 10 of 14A general view as dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 11 of 14A general view as dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 12 of 14A general view as dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens on April 23, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 13 of 14A couple sits on Tourkovounia hill, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust, in Athens, on April 23, 2024. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 14 of 14A man takes a photograph of the city of Athens from Tourkovounia hill, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust to the city, in Athens, on April 23, 2024. Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. The yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, limiting visibility and prompting warnings of breathing risks from the authorities. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
The dust appears to have originated from a storm that created similar scenes in Derna, Libya, which was slapped with winds of up to 45 mph on Monday and Tuesday, according to The Libya Observer.
Satellite data posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere showed the plume of dust moving across the Mediterranean Sea toward Greece on Tuesday.
Forecasts call for the dust to subside in Greece by Wednesday.
Athens is just one of several cities in Europe that have recently experienced reduced visibility and poor air quality caused by plumes of dust traveling north from Africa.
Typically, plumes of dust from the Sahara Desert move across the North Atlantic Ocean during the summer and create similar conditions in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.