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Nicosia covered by dust with high concentration in the air

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The government has warned of high concentration of dust in the air above Cyprus, with almost all monitoring stations showing above-normal levels and Nicosia almost triple that measure.

According to measurements from ground stations of the Air Quality Monitoring Network operated by the Department of Labour Inspection, high concentrations of dust are observed in the air on Tuesday, with the level for Nicosia the highest at 126 micrograms per cubic meter, Far above the benchmark 50 μg/m3.

“The public, and particularly any vulnerable groups of population (children, older people, and the infirm) are urged to avoid circulating in open spaces until the observed episode has elapsed, as the small size of respirable particles in dust may have negative effects on human health,” The Labour Inspection department said.

It added that employers must take appropriate measures (organisational and/or technical) after assessing any risks that workers may face while working in open spaces, and it is recommended that workers in such spaces use appropriate means of personal protection.

In detail, the latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 8:00 am on Tuesday in the following areas are:

Nicosia:                                    126  μg/m3

Limassol:                                   95  μg/m3

Larnaca:                                       —  μg/m3

Paphos:                                      72  μg/m3

Paralimni:                                   92  μg/m3

Zygi:                                            42  μg/m3

Ayia Marina Xyliatou:               47  μg/m3

According to the announcement, “dust” refers to respirable particulate matter of a diameter smaller than 10 μm (PM10) in the air. According to the relevant legislation, a limit value not to be exceeded is set for the daily average concentrations at 50 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter).

More information on the measured pollutant concentrations and real-time updates is available online at www.airquality.gov.cy, and also through the free mobile application ‘Air Quality Cyprus’.