Winter calimas on the increase

Concerns are rising about the increased presence of calimas on the Canary Islands.

All the measuring points on Lanzarote in the Canarian Air Quality Index are currently rated as “unfavourable” for airborne particles, and the Canarian Government recently placed all the islands on pre-alert for calima conditions – the third time such an alert has been issued this year.

A team from Spain’s meteorological agency, AEMET, has claimed that calima episodes are longer than ever before in the last three years, and suggests that changes in the atmospheric circualtion may be responsible.

Antonio García, an allergy specialist at the Hospital Dr. Negrín in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, told Canarias7 that the calima is “pollution pure and simple”. He has warned that it is not just sand that arrives, but particles of quartz, nickel, and other contaminants.