MINISTRY ISSUES DUST WARNING
Cyprus Mail 4 September 2020 - by Staff Reporter
The labour ministry has issued a dust alert for Friday and warned vulnerable groups of the population to stay indoors as much as possible.
The high concentrations of dust only add to the discomfort of the heat wave gripping Cyprus this week. Temperatures today are set to soar to 45C inland.
In an announcement, the labour ministry said high concentrations of dust are observed in the air, according to measurements from ground Stations of the Air Quality Monitoring Network operated by the Department of Labour Inspection.
“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,” it said.
Employers must take appropriate measures (organizational and/or technical) after assessing any risks that their employees may face while working in open spaces, and it is recommended that workers in such spaces use appropriate means of personal protection, it added.
In detail, the latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 7:00 am in the following areas are:
Nicosia: 48 μg/m3
Limassol: 61 μg/m3
Larnaca: 60 μg/m3
Paphos: 100 μg/m3
Paralimni: 53 μg/m3
Zygi: 42 μg/m3
Ayia Marina Xyliatou: 49 μg/m3
It is noted that ‘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 metre).
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’.