The sky suddenly turned red. Amazing photos from a European island

Residents and tourists on a Greek island could feel like they were on Mars. On Wednesday, April 1, the sky over Crete suddenly turned shades of red. It’s all because of the dust from the Sahara, which was also recently warned about in the Canary Islands. According to Greek media, the landscape also changed in Santorini, where the famous white houses on the cliffs looked as if they were orange. Although the apocalyptic views encouraged people to take photos, the authorities reminded people of the risk to the respiratory tract and encouraged people to stay at home. The weather caused some flights to be diverted.

Dust from the Sahara in Crete

The presence of dust from the Sahara in southern Europe is not particularly surprising. Changes in the wind system in recent years favor the movement of air masses from Africa to the north. Kalima can occur up to a dozen times a year. Yesterday, residents and tourists in Crete, as well as millions of Internet users, were amazed by the extraordinary scale of this phenomenon.

On April 1, on a Greek island, for a moment you felt like you were on another planet. The photos published by Reuters look as if a red filter had been applied to them. Visibility in this part of Greece was poor, and people on the streets wore masks to protect themselves from the harmful effects of dust on the respiratory system. Previously, the authorities encouraged people to stay at home and in hotels and close their windows. The problem appeared not only in Crete, but also in Santorini, which is beloved by tourists.

Impact of dust on flights to Greece

Kalima arranged for three international flights that were scheduled to land at the airport on Wednesday. Nikos Kazantzakis in Heraklion, were redirected to alternative airports in Chania, Athens and Corfu. The unfavorable weather conditions were further intensified by storm Erminio, which brought rain, thunderstorms and strong winds across Greece.