A violent sandstorm from the Sahara troubles the Spanish islands.
Air traffic in Mallorca is affected.
The government warns.
Madrid - The dust from the Sahara moves across the Spanish islands and further towards the Mediterranean.
The air is already full of dust, it hangs in the air.
In the Canary Islands, the weather service will continue to warn of strong winds * with gusts of up to 80 km / h for the next few days.
According to the forecasts, La Palma and Tenerife are particularly affected.
The weather experts expect the dust to disappear completely on Friday (February 19).
Sandstorm in the Canaries: flight connections are canceled
On La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, numerous flight connections were canceled on Monday, the airport operator Aena announced via Twitter.
A total of 27 flights were canceled, two had to be diverted.
The strong wind blows the fine sand from the African mainland onto the islands.
The regional government urges people with respiratory diseases to stay in their homes and to spend as little time as possible outdoors.
Weather phenomenon Calima - sandstorm in the Canary Islands
The cause of the sandstorms is the notorious Calima.
A weather situation with an easterly wind drives the desert sand from the Sahara to the Canary Islands.
Geographically, the Spanish islands are particularly affected by a calima: the desert is about 300 kilometers east, exactly at the height of the Canary Islands.
The sandstorm can be seen on brown surfaces on satellite images.
After a calima, roads and cars are simply covered by a fine layer of sand.
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Sandstorm over the Canaries: The graphic shows where the Sahara sand (brownish yellow) is drifting.
© Barcelona Dust
The Calima weather phenomenon was extreme last year.
Dense swaths of sand dust enveloped Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Vacationers got stuck on the island.
Air traffic had to be completely interrupted.
The view was too bad.
Spectacular photos went around the world.
(ml) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network
List of rubric lists: © Desiree Martin / afp