Athenians on the city’s southern edge have found themselves shrouded in an unusual fog for the past two days that has blanketed a number of coastal areas from Piraeus to Glyfada. The fog is known as an ‘advection fog’, according to experts, a type of mist created when warm, moist air encounters a cold surface - in this case the waters of the Saronic gulf - causing water vapour to condense.
According to reporting by 'Kathimerini' meteorologists say the phenomenon has been caused by the unseasonably high temperatures in Athens which have reached above 20 degrees Celsius, together with high humidity levels. Increased levels of particulate matter due to pollution also help trigger the fog’s formation.
While spring-like temperatures in February are not unheard of in Athens, according to experts temperatures have been particularly high this year and are linked to the bad weather that has been affecting much of Northern Europe. The spring feeling in Athens is expected to remain unchanged until the weekend at which point temperatures are expected to drop.