Greece's Crete island covered in orange African dust

Strong winds carried Saharan dust across the Mediterranean, turning Crete’s skies orange and reducing visibility in Heraklion, forcing some flights to divert.

Reuters

2 April 2026 at 09:31:33

Greece's Crete island covered in orange African dust

Birds perch on a tree in the city amid a haze caused by sand dust from the Sahara, due to strong southern winds, in Heraklion, Crete island, April 1, 2026.

Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters

The skies over the island of Crete in Greece were draped in an orange hue on Wednesday (April 1) after being blanketed by a haze of dust that swept in from the African continent.

The town of Heraklion was immersed in the orange dust, which is formed when strong winds push sand and dust particles from the Saharan desert in Northern Africa across the Mediterranean.

Local media reported low visibility from the dust caused some flights headed to the island to revert to other airports.

The dust comes as a storm front passes through the country bringing rains and strong winds.

Production: Stefanos Rapanis, Deborah Kyvrikosaios/Reuters