April weather surprises in Europe: Athens covered in orange dust fog, Finland covered in snow

The Greek Meteorological Service said that weather conditions on Tuesday created favorable conditions for dust from Africa to spread, and this was manifested in “increased concentrations in the atmosphere”, especially in the south of the country, according to cnn.com.

The service predicted that the dust will gradually decrease on Wednesday morning, and from midday it will remain only in the eastern part of the country.

Videos and photos circulating online show people in Athens watching the yellow-orange haze from the hills near the Greek capital.

Others went out for a walk around town in the evening and shared bright orange images on social media. Greek meteorologist Kostas Lagouvardas wrote on Facebook that Athens looked like a “Mars colony”.

Dust clouds traveling from North Africa to Greece and other regions are an occasional phenomenon. It restricts visibility and can cause breathing difficulties.

Dust also enveloped the eastern Mediterranean country of Cyprus.

In mid-April, a low pressure system established over North Africa had already brought dust over Cyprus several times in mid-April. They “darkened the sky and degraded air quality,” NASA said Tuesday.

On April 22, a photo taken by NASA’s Terra satellite showed a “tan-colored veil” covering Cyprus. The dust was expected to continue traveling across the Mediterranean Sea and envelop Cyprus and Greece within days, NASA said.

While parts of Greece were painted orange, Finland had to deal with an unusually white week in April. Due to heavier than usual snowfall in northern Europe, public transport in the southern part of Finland could not run, public broadcaster YLE reported.

“Unusual April weather” brought more than 20cm of snow to some areas, causing tram jams in the Finnish capital, delays to buses and metro trains, and canceled or delayed flights at Helsinki Airport, YLE reported on Tuesday.

While snow is a common occurrence in Finland in winter, Johannes Laitila, a spokesman for Helsinki’s public transport operator HSL, told YLE that such weather for the end of April was “unusual” and urged people to allow more time for travel.

The photos showed residents of Helsinki walking through thick snow and ice and using umbrellas to protect themselves from the heavy snowfall. High piles of snow piled up on sidewalks, cars and scooters.

Finnish airport operator Finavia reported that a blizzard fell at Helsinki airport overnight, which “turned to ice almost immediately after hitting the ground”.