This meteorological phenomenon, strong hot winds loaded with sand dust from the African desert, is called the “calima” on the other side of the Pyrenees.
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Spain turned orange. A fine layer of sand from the Sahara fell during the night of Monday March 14 to Tuesday March 15 on Madrid and a large part of the country. Many of them, on Tuesday morning, rinsed the roof of their car, their terrace or the plants on their balcony with a jet of water in the heart of the Spanish capital where this fine ocher powder was deposited.
This meteorological phenomenon, strong hot winds loaded with sand dust from the Sahara desert, is called in Spain the “calima”. It is quite common, especially in the Canary archipelago, located in northwest Africa. This “calima” this time affected Spain from south-east to north-west, from the region of Murcia to Cantabria.
This “rain of sand” also affected France. According to the different France Bleu locals, from This morning, sand covered the streets of several towns from Le Mans (Sarthe) to Poitiers (Vienne), via Tours (Indre-et-Loire) and Châteauroux (Indre). Dordogne, Pyrénées-Atlantique, Hautes-Pyrénées, Creuse, Vendée and Loire-Atlantique were also affected by the phenomenon.
Desert dust from #Sahara everywhere in France.
How to explain this phenomenon ?
Is it frequent?
What concentrations?➡️ Explanations from Gaëlle Collin, Étienne Blot, and Marine Jeoffrion, meteorological engineers at Météo France https://t.co/lG9bx5uHTA pic.twitter.com/1SenaVEMMB
— Meteo-France (@meteofrance) March 15, 2022