Holidaymakers spending Christmas on the Canary Isles have been sent a warning as the area is to be hit by a weather phenomenon over the coming days.
A severe case of “calima” has been forecasted for the area’s festive period. The phenomenon will see billions of particles of dust from Saharan Africa fill the air, transforming the sky with a yellow or red haze.
According to meteorologists at El Tiempo, the calima will “strongly” impact the eastern canary 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. The atmosphere will favour the entry of a mass of Saharan air with a high load of suspended dust.
“From the end of Tuesday [December 24], 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 December 26. The primary cause of the phenomenon is movement of air masses over the Sahara desert. It can cause the soil to become fine and easily lifted by strong winds.
Some clouds of sand reach up to 6,000 metres in altitude. The adverse weather condition can cause a rise in temperature, reduced visibility and can also make it difficult to breathe. When Calima occurs, health authorities recommend that people take precautions, especially if they are vulnerable, such as children, the elderly, or people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
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