Canary Islands has vanished this Wednesday under a thick blanket of Saharan dust. A significant injection of haze from the African continent has covered the entire Archipelago for the third consecutive day, staining the skies ocher, clouding the horizon and causing a worsening of air quality.
Although the haze has been over the Archipelago for several days, its presence this Wednesday has been much more intense than in previous days. This has been confirmed through the values recorded by the stations of the Canary Islands Air Quality Control and Surveillance Network. Specifically, between dawn and early morning, the values of suspended particles of the PM2.5 type (that is, with a diameter less than 2.5 microns and potentially inhalable) tripled the usual concentrations.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife Concentrations of fine particles reached 191 micrograms per cubic meter shortly before noon. The same pattern was repeated Breña Baja (The Palm) where up to 148 micrograms per cubic meter have been reached and, in some parts of the city of The Gran Canarian palms 142 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 have been reached.
This intense entry of air from the southeast, fouled with particles of dust in suspension that it drags from the Sahara desert, has its origin in the position of a nearby anticyclone located in North Africa. This structure is causing strong winds that facilitate the arrival of these advections to the Canary Islands. Furthermore, since it occurs in winter, this situation occurs in the lower layers of the atmosphere, hence a significant reduction in visibility and a notable worsening of the air that the canaries breathe.
Starting this Thursday, the Canary Islands sky will dawn clearer, but it will only remain that way until Friday. The Aemet expects that, starting on Saturday, suspended dust will once again make an appearance on the Islands. It will not be accompanied, however, by an increase in temperature. “The warm advection It will not be so important, because in the desert it is not so hot,” says David Suárez, Aemet delegate in the Canary Islands.
In fact, temperatures have maintained a downward trend since Monday. During this Wednesday a maximum of 27.8 degrees was recorded in Vallehermoso (La Gomera), followed by about 27.2 in The Village of San Nicolás in Gran Canaria. In Tenerife the thermometers have reached 26.9 degrees in Adeje. The minimum temperatures, for their part, have been up to 2.6 degrees at the summit of Tenerife and up to 5.6 degrees at the summit of Gran Canaria.
The skies will return to their usual color starting Tuesday, when a “very powerful anticyclone” is expected to be located north of the Canary Islands, near the Azores archipelago. “This structure will generate a situation of stability that will not allow storms to pass through to the Canary Islands,” reveals Suárez. Therefore, it will also make it difficult for rain to reach the Islands.
Health effects
Exposure to haze can cause chest discomfort, cough, palpitations, fatigue or increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, at least for five days after the start of the episode. And the dust in suspension contributes to drying out the respiratory tract, and in many cases can cause a worsening of conditions or symptoms related to respiratory diseases, such as asthma, people with chronic obstructive disease (COPD). Haze is also related to an increase in cardiovascular events in the medium and long term.
For this reason, it is recommended that people sensitive to this type of episode, such as children, the elderly and people with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular diseases, not go outside and keep the doors and windows of their homes closed, clean the surfaces with the dust with damp cloths, stay in humid environments and hydrate, do not do physical exercises outside. If respiratory symptoms still worsen, it is recommended to call 1-1-2.
