Residents of a beautiful Greek island, accustomed to blue skies, were seeing red due to a Saharan storm.

The people of Santorini were forced to wear face masks outdoors to protect themselves from the suffocating dust in the freak weather. It is the latest storm to hit the Aegean after a 'red alert' was imposed due to floods in December.

Health experts warned that higher levels of airborne particles may pose respiratory risks. Santorini's famous white-domed churches looked like a scene from a sci-fi film.

• Casemiro shows up Ruben Amorim with striking comment on Man Utd team-mate

• Rugby star diagnosed with terminal cancer at 27 and forced to retire from sport

The dust carried by the storm in North Africa, around 2,300 miles from Santorini, turned the skies an eerie orange red. It caused chaos for the 15,500 permanent residents and some of the two million tourists who visit annually.

Incoming flights were diverted to alternative destinations, landing at the airports on Crete, Athens and Corfu. A flight from Manchester to Rhodes was diverted to another island. Climate change is again being blamed for travel disruption.

The area has also been battered by strong winds and heavy rainfall carried by Storm Erminio. Rain mixed with dust hit Crete, coating vehicles and buildings with mud. A red weather warning was in effect.

The storm has disrupted flights and ferries, affecting travel to and from Greece and its islands ahead of the Easter holidays. A man died near Athens on mainland Greece.

According to the fire department, he was found under a car in the Nea Makri area, which suffered flooding. A dust storm also hit Libya, and authorities declared a state of emergency in Tobruk as the skies turned red.