Monday, May 27, 2024 The Canary Islands face a growing threat from severe calima storms, impacting tourism with intense sandstorms that can disrupt travel plans and mar the islands’ appeal. The Canary Islands are grappling with an escalating environmental challenge that could diminish their allure—the calima. This phenomenon, known as “haze” in English, involves sandstorms that cloak the islands in a thick fog of hot, sandy winds originating from the Sahara.
Although these sandstorms have become rarer, their intensity has increased significantly. As a result, any holiday disruptions caused by a calima are likely to be more severe than in the past. Since 1980, the Canary Islands have recorded 483 calima events, averaging about 24 days of impact per year.
Typically, each event spans approximately 1.8 days. However, for British tourists planning a summer visit to the Canaries, there is a positive aspect: the fiercest storms tend to occur in January and February.
Visitors to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, or the other islands during the summer months are less likely to face the most extreme conditions of the year. Still, it’s important to be aware that the local government has issued preliminary alerts for calima conditions four times already this year. In February 2020, an intense calima forced the closure of all eight airports on the islands, disrupting travel and ruining many vacation plans.
For those caught in a calima, it is advised to remain indoors, keep doors and windo.
