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CANARY ISLANDS

IN PICS ‘It’s like Mars’: Sahara sandstorm sweeps across Canary Islands

Known as a Calima in Spanish, the weather phenomenon saw high winds brings sand from the Sahara desert sweep across the Canary Islands.

Published: 24 February 2020 09:41 CET
IN PICS 'It's like Mars': Sahara sandstorm sweeps across Canary Islands
An image taken from a control tower on the Canary Islands. Photo: @J_Morillas / Twitter

Satelite footage shot by NASA shows the cloud of sand sweeping over the Canary Islands from the Sahara. 

And the forecast shows the phenonmenon is set to continue until Wednesday.

The dust cloud closed airspace over the Canary Islands and bathed eveything in an orange hue. 

This image was shot from the air traffic control tower at one of the airports on the archipelago. 

And here's some footage ofGran Canaria looking like a scene from Lawrence of Arabia but with a bicycle in place of a camel. 

The scene was repeated across the Canary Islands, from Gran Canaria to Tenerife to Lanzarote. 

 

 

And here's a shot of Las Canteras beach on the island of Las Palmas. 

 

Island authorities have declared a red alert and issued a list of recommendations which include closing doors and windows, drink lots of liquids and avoid exertion.  Those who suffer from respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors and drivers are told to be careful on the roads, use headlamps and cut speed as visibility is greatly reduced.  

 

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WEATHER

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

Blizzards in Denmark this week have resulted in the greatest depth of snow measured in the country for 13 years.

Published: 4 January 2024 14:18 CET
Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

A half-metre of snow, measured at Hald near East Jutland town Randers, is the deepest to have occurred in Denmark since January 2011, national meteorological agency DMI said.

The measurement was taken by the weather agency at 8am on Thursday.

Around 20-30 centimetres of snow was on the ground across most of northern and eastern Jutland by Thursday, as blizzards peaked resulting in significant disruptions to traffic and transport.

A much greater volume of snow fell in 2011, however, when over 100 centimetres fell on Baltic Sea island Bornholm during a post-Christmas blizzard, which saw as much as 135 centimetres on Bornholm at the end of December 2010.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s January storms could be fourth extreme weather event in three months

With snowfall at its heaviest for over a decade, Wednesday saw a new rainfall record. The 59 millimetres which fell at Svendborg on the island of Funen was the most for a January day in Denmark since 1886. Some 9 weather stations across Funen and Bornholm measured over 50cm of rain.

DMI said that the severe weather now looks to have peaked.

“We do not expect any more weather records to be set in the next 24 hours. But we are looking at some very cold upcoming days,” DMI meteorologist and press spokesperson Herdis Damberg told news wire Ritzau.

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