Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus is experiencing increasingly intense desert dust episodes as climate change alters atmospheric conditions across the Levant, according to an international study involving researchers from the Cyprus Institute.
Published on Thursday in the journal Nature, the study identified Cyprus as one of the European regions most affected by desert dust transport and found that the Levant has recorded some of the largest increases in dust episode intensity over the past decade.
Changing atmospheric conditions
Researchers said rising drought and desertification in North Africa, combined with changing atmospheric systems, are driving stronger transport of dust from the Sahara and other desert regions towards Europe.
The findings indicate that climate change is affecting air quality as well as temperatures and extreme weather.
Pollution and health effects
Southern Europe experiences about 46 desert dust events annually, with dust accounting for around one third of the annual average PM10 particulate pollution considered acceptable under World Health Organisation guidelines.
The study said elevated dust concentrations can have serious health consequences. Recent dust episodes across southern Europe were associated with an estimated 0.67 per cent increase in daily mortality and a 2.5 per cent rise in respiratory hospital admissions among children.
Rising concentrations
Average desert dust concentrations in southern Europe are more than double those recorded in central and northern Europe, according to the research.
Evidence from Alpine glacier records also shows that transported dust has gradually increased across Europe over the past century.
Researchers from the Cyprus Institute’s Centre of Excellence for Climate and Atmospheric Research said desert dust is a natural phenomenon in the region, but that the study shows its intensity and impacts are increasing as climate change alters the conditions driving it.
