Authorities have issued a dust warning for Tuesday, the second in as many days, and urged vulnerable groups to avoid going outside.

In an announcement, the department of labour inspection said high concentrations of dust have been measured at ground stations of its air quality monitoring network it operates.

The public, and particularly any vulnerable groups of the 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.

The latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 7:00 am in the following areas are: Nicosia 54.0 μg/m3; Limassol 89.3 μg/m3; Larnaca 61.2 μg/m3; Paralimni 47.9 μg/m3; Paphos 36.9 μg/m3, Zygi 49.1 μg/m3 and Ayia Marina Xyliatou 60.3 μg/m3.

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’.