Flights to and from the Canary Islands have been cancelled today due to a major dust storm brought clouds of red sand from the Sahara to the islands, greatly reducing visibility. Several local events have also been cancelled due to the storm, and people with respiratory problems are being warned not to go outside until the storm has passed. The dust storm has been caused by winds of up to 120 km per hour over parts of North Africa, and is expected to pass on Monday 24 February 2020.
A dust storm in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Sunday 23 February 2020.
The predominant weather system over North Africa is the Saharan Air Layer, a hot, dry, and often dust-laden air system that prevents moister air from the Atlantic and Mediterranean brining rain to the area. Over the Atlantic this layer is typically forced up, above the moist, but cooler, sea air, carrying dust westward to South America. However, on some occassions a climatic inversion, whereby the air from the Saharan Air Layer is unable to move westward, and piles up in position till its upper layers become cool and dense enough to be forced down, brining a dense, dust-laden storm to the Canaries, known as a Calima.
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