The Greek island of Crete looked like Planet Mars after a violent storm: everything was red, in a rare weather phenomenon – VIDEO

A powerful dust storm from Sahara and a tornado caused transport chaos on the Greek island of Crete, the country’s largest and one of Greece’s top tourist destinations. Visibility dropped to 1,000 meters, forcing planes to change their routes, the Daily Mail reports. Pollution levels were extremely high, with people advised to take shelter from the thick dust.

Images as if from the Planet Mars

The Greek island of Crete was engulfed in a suffocating Saharan dust storm as strong winds swept through the region, forcing flights to be diverted and painting the sky an eerie red-orange hue resembling an environment on the planet Mars.

Red sky now not only in Australia: Powerful sandstorm hits the Greek island of Crete. pic.twitter.com/uthsHsLqJX

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 1, 2026

Strong tornado on the ground

Dramatic scenes were also reported on the ground, where a powerful tornado overturned a truck in the coastal area of Pachia Ammos, which was preparing to load agricultural exports. The inclement weather also uprooted trees, damaged greenhouses and caused part of a wall at a ceramics factory to collapse.

In Ierapetra, huge waves crashed against the first houses along the old town as strong winds from the south worsened dangerous coastal conditions.

The air became suffocating, with extremely high concentrations of dust particles, forming dangerous conditions, especially for vulnerable residents.

According to regional monitoring stations, air quality indicators have reached the “very poor” category, with particle pollution significantly exceeding safety limits.

Meteorologists say dust levels have risen to over 1000 micrograms per cubic meter, which is an extremely high concentration.

However, meteorologists warn that another wave of Saharan dust could hit the island in the following days.

yogaesoteric
April 4, 2026

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