FABLED ‘blood rain’ is set to cake swathes of mainland Spain in gloopy mud next week as the warm front bringing unseasonably high temperatures for the Easter weekend slowly gives way.
The infamous phenomenon is forecast to hit after the Semana Santa celebrations subside as a massive plume of Saharan dust sweeps northwards and collides with an Atlantic DANA storm.
State weather agency Aemet wrote on X: “Starting Tuesday, a low-pressure system will circulate to the west of the Iberian Peninsula, bringing rain to the areas in the western half of the peninsula.
“However, from its position, it will also favour the arrival of suspended dust, which will lead to calima. The rains could be accompanied by mud.”
The ‘calima’ – sometimes inadequately translated as ‘haze’ – occurs when warm, dry air laden with fine dust and sand particles drifts north, aided by prevailing winds.
It reduces visibility, casting a reddish hue over Spanish skies and severely hampering air quality.
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When 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 for the messy, hard-to-remove residue they leave on cars, terraces and swimming pools.
Last week, locals and tourists visiting the Canary Islands were forced to take precautions after the archipelago was engulfed by an 800-mile wide dust wave sweeping in from the African coast.
The sandy front made landfall early on Wednesday, casting an eerie dark orange hue across the island’s skies.
People with respiratory diseases are urged to take precautions when a calima hits, such as wearing masks when outside or avoiding leaving home.
Residents are also urged to keep windows and doors closed to prevent the dust seeping inside, and to avoid intense exercise outdoors.
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