Greece's National Meteorological Service has issued a health alert as a heavy Saharan dust cloud swept across the country from west to east, while a fast-moving storm system simultaneously unleashed thunderstorms, hail and flash flood risks across northern and central regions.
Research director Konstantinos Lagouvardos urged children, the elderly and anyone with respiratory conditions to limit outdoor exposure. "Vulnerable groups must exercise extreme caution," Mr. Lagouvardos said, adding that the dust cloud is expected to clear substantially by early Sunday morning, with western Crete facing the heaviest ground-level particulate concentrations overnight Saturday.
The storm front is tracking across the Ionian islands, Epirus, western Central Greece and Macedonia, bringing heavy rain, sporadic thunderstorms and localized hail through Saturday afternoon.
Civil protection authorities have been placed on alert for flash flooding in the worst-affected areas.
Southerly winds of up to 6 Beaufort will shift northwesterly by evening as the system moves toward the northeastern Aegean.
Temperatures remain relatively mild despite the disruption, ranging from 22°C to 24°C across the Ionian islands and Cyclades, and peaking at 28°C in eastern Greece and Crete.
The dual weather event — desert dust from Africa converging with a northern storm front — is consistent with increasingly frequent spring weather patterns that meteorologists have linked to shifting atmospheric circulation over the eastern Mediterranean.