African dust augurs temperatures to match

Dust blowing in from the Sahara cast a pall over the springtime sky in Athens and many other parts of Greece, particularly in the south, over the weekend, heralding a spike in temperatures more reminiscent of North Africa than Southern Europe for this time of year.

The national weather service, EMY, has forecast daytime highs of as much as 34 degrees Celsius in mainland Greece, the Peloponnese and the islands of the southern and eastern Aegean on Monday, with a further uptick expected on Tuesday.

The situation in northern parts of the country will be much different, however, with cloudy skies, scattered showers and the possibility of localized storms, especially at higher altitudes.

Sailors need to take care, as apart from poor visibility, they will also have to contend with winds of up to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean and the Ionian seas.