What PM10 measures
PM10 is the mass concentration of airborne particles with a diameter of ten micrometres or less. It includes mineral dust as well as sea salt, combustion particles and other material.
A forecast is not a medical diagnosis or a measurement at your exact street. People with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions should follow advice from Cyprus authorities and their healthcare professional when official dust announcements are active.
Forecasts and observations are different
Our air-quality input is a regional model forecast from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service through Open-Meteo. It helps describe the expected pattern, but local monitoring stations remain the authority for measured concentrations.
Model grid cells are broad compared with a neighbourhood. Timing and concentration may differ, especially near local emission sources or when winds change.
Why it affects the car-wash answer
A dry forecast is not enough for a useful wash window. Elevated PM10 or an official dust episode can leave deposits on a freshly cleaned car, so our car-wash rule requires both dry weather and PM10 below its stated threshold for the following 24 hours.
If air-quality data is missing, the answer becomes unavailable rather than assuming conditions are clean.