A MASSIVE plume of Saharan dust is set to sweep across Spain this weekend, potentially bringing fabled ‘blood rain’ to the Iberian Peninsula for the first time this year.
The phenomenon, known as a ‘calima’, is being driven by a high-altitude isolated depression (DANA) moving towards north Africa and the Canary Islands.
The weather system is sucking up vast quantities of sand from Morocco and Mauritania and dragging it north into southern Europe.
The highest concentrations of dust are expected to make landfall in the southeast, the Balearic Islands and the two African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla before increasing in intensity at the start of next week.
Aemet, the state weather agency, has warned that the microscopic suspended particles will severely reduce air quality across Spain.
Health experts are advising people with respiratory diseases to take precautions as the sky turns a whitish-orange hue over the coming days.
If combined with wet weather, the ‘calima’ can cause dirt-filled showers known colloquially as ‘blood rain’.
These muddy downpours are notorious among expats and locals alike for the messy residue they leave on cars, terraces and swimming pools.
READ MORE: Spanish stargazers left disappointed as calima clouds out rare Blood Moon and total lunar eclipse
On Saturday, light rainfall is forecast across the northern half of Spain after a week characterised by unseasonably high temperatures.
Bilbao recorded its highest-ever February temperature of 27.1C on Tuesday, surpassing the previous record of 26.9C set in 2019.
But the mercury is set to fall back to seasonal averages over the weekend, with the possibility of light frosts in high mountain winds.
March will then begin with cloudy skies across the southern half of the peninsula and the possibility of rainfall near Valencia.
The weather is then expected to deteriorate later next week thanks to the arrival of a new DANA, bringing heavy downpours and thunderstorms to much of the country.
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