Laurence Dollimore
WEATHER experts have warned of a severe case of ‘calima’ that will enter Spain’s Canary Islands this week.
The phenomenon sees billions of particles of dust from the Saharan region of Africa fill the air, taking over the sky with a yellow or red haze.
According to meteorologists at El Tiempo, the ‘calima’ will ‘strongly’ impact the Canary Islands, particularly its eastern isles, from Christmas Eve.
It said in a report: “The haze in the Canary Islands will cause visibility to be poor, and it is foreseeable that the air quality will worsen considerably.
“In the Canary Islands, the rain and storms that have affected the archipelago will still persist for the rest of Monday and the first hours of Tuesday.
“These precipitations will be more intense and significant in the western islands.
“During the early hours of Tuesday, the rain in the Canary Islands will give its last gasps.
“The most significant accumulations could occur in areas of Tenerife and La Palma, with more than 10mm at times.”
It said ‘stability will resume’ during the afternoon of Christmas Eve, ushering in a ‘very stable’ Christmas Day in the archipelago.
However, after the rain, the ‘calima’ will take over in the Canary Islands.
The report continued: “The atmosphere will favour the entry of a mass of Saharan air with a high load of suspended dust.
“From the end of Tuesday, and especially during the early hours and morning of Christmas Day, the skies will be covered in suspended dust.
“The density of the haze will be greater in the eastern islands, where very high concentrations of dust are expected. This will cause, in addition to the cloudy skies, a strong deterioration of the air quality in the whole area.”
The ‘calima’ is expected to last on the islands until the end of Thursday.
