Many residents of even southern Athens woke up this morning and found ash-covered balconies and gray-white particles flying in the air. And this is only what is visible to the naked eye.
The amount of dangerous microparticles in the air against the background of blazing fires is increasing. In virtually all of the Attica Basin, National Astero reports that levels of harmful microparticles PM2.5 (fine respirable particles with a diameter of about 2.5 microns) are increasing. A large load was noted in the northern and eastern regions. EAA encourages residents of the Greek capital to:
“Close windows and doors in their homes and, if necessary, use N95, KN95 or FFP2 masks that provide protection against PM2.5 particles.”
The raging fires in Attica generously fill the atmosphere with particles hazardous to health. Just one hour on the street is like smoking 10 cigarettes, the professor warns Pulmonology University of Crete Nikos Tsanakis.
The professor draws attention to the danger of these tiny elements. One of them is getting particles deep into the lungs and causing irritation, leading to bronchitis and bronchial asthma. Especially elderly people suffer, as well as those with chronic problems and diseases of the cardiovascular system. But even in healthy people, after inhalation of air containing dangerous impurities, coughing and sputum production are observed.
The data on the content of harmful impurities in the air comes from the sensor network of the Institute for Environmental Research of the National Observatory of Athens (IEPBA / EAA). It operates within the PANAKIA National Research Infrastructure of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation and in collaboration with the Attica region.
You can see real-time PM2.5 values at: https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/mPM25/a10/cC0#10.21/38.021/23.7292
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