Cyprus has repeatedly exceeded legal thresholds for airborne particle pollution, with some monitoring stations recording dozens of violations annually and one location hitting seven times the permitted limit, the Labour Minister has told parliament.
Marinos Moushouttas, responding to written questions from Famagusta MP Giorgos Koukoumas, disclosed that 2023 was the worst year on record, when PM10 particle concentrations at Paralimni reached 350.6 micrograms per cubic metre — against a daily legal limit of 50 μg/m³. The permitted maximum is 35 exceedances per year.
That year, the Nicosia traffic monitoring station recorded 85 exceedances, Limassol 64, Paralimni 47, the Zygi industrial station 40, Paphos and the Nicosia residential station 37 each, Larnaca and the Mari industrial station 34 each, and Ayia Marina Xyliatou 17.
In 2025, the Nicosia traffic station again recorded the highest number of daily limit breaches at 67, followed by Limassol with 44, Paralimni with 35 — exactly at the legal annual ceiling — Larnaca with 32, the Nicosia residential station with 30, Zygi with 18, Paphos with 17, Mari with 13, and Ayia Marina Xyliatou with five.
The authorities issued 20 public advisories in 2023, 15 in 2022, 12 in 2024, and four in 2025. Advisories are only issued when concentrations reach or approach dangerous levels; days on which dust remains below or near the threshold go unannounced.
Prolonged exposure to PM10 particles, which lodge in the lungs, has been linked to bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and reduced lung function, as well as heart attacks, arrhythmias and strokes. Eye, nose and throat irritation are also among the recorded effects.
