Short but heavy calima hits Lanzarote

The sudden calima that hit Lanzarote yesterday morning arrived earlier than expected, but also lasted for a much shorter period than usual.

Although an alert had been issued for midday, the calima turned from a light haze to a thick fog and sweltering heat around 1mid-morning. Although the airport was reported to have closed briefly, it claims that it was “re-ordering operations”, with several flights diverted to Fuerteventura or sent back to the Canary Island they were arriving from.

Among flights affected were arrivals from Leeds-Bradford, Birmingham, East Midlands, Dublín, Madrid, Seville, Bilbao, Tenerife Norte and two from Gran Canaria.

However, the worst of the calima had passed by early afternoon, and AEMET has not extended its weather warning. Tuesday has dawned with light cloud cover, clearer skies and notably fresher temperatures.