Canarias has embraced summer two months ahead. The episode of high temperatures that has covered the Islands with a thick haze has raised the thermometers throughout the Archipelago above 30 degrees, with some points reaching highs of 38 degrees.
From early morning, the thick haze that clouded the horizon across the Canary Islands foreshadowed a temperature increase that did not take long to make itself felt. The cool sea breeze that the Canaries had been accustomed to in recent weeks changed to a drier, stale, and hot one, managing to raise the thermometers to historic highs for April.
Specifically, the airport in Tenerife South, one of the stations with the longest series in the Archipelago, recorded 38 degrees, breaking its historical maximum for the month of April by 2 degrees. La Aldea de San Nicolás, in Gran Canaria also reached 38 degrees. The thermometers in what is already considered one of the hotspots of heat in the Canaries have reached 38.3 degrees, making the small municipality in the west of Gran Canaria the hottest place in the Canary Islands.
With this heat, it is no wonder that the Canary Islands as a whole have become Spain’s oven. The 10 highest temperatures in the country have been recorded in the Islands.
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Six times more concentration of haze
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In addition to the heat, the other great protagonist of the day has been the haze. The suspended dust not only increased the feeling of heaviness and drastically reduced visibility but also put the health of the Canarians at risk. According to the Control and Surveillance Network of the Canary Islands Government, the concentrations of particles less than 10 microns (PM10) reached up to six times the daily recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
This organisation recommends that exposure to PM10 should not exceed 50 micrograms per cubic meter per day. However, in areas like Agüimes (Gran Canaria), the daily average stood at 300 micrograms per cubic meter.
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A girl cools off in the pond in the Plaza de la Candelaria, in Santa Cruz. / Andrés Gutiérrez
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In the north of Tenerife, the daily average concentrations exceeded 200 micrograms per cubic meter, in Santa Cruz, they exceeded 140 micrograms per cubic meter, and in the south of the island – the most affected area – the suspended dust has remained at an average concentration of 400 micrograms per cubic meter. In some points, such as Granadilla, this indicator reached 900 micrograms per cubic meter during the night.
