Spain’s Malaga set for 60km winds, rain and the return of the CALIMA

The Spanish meterological bureau, Aemet, forecast thereturn of the calima, the Saharan sand haze, in the Costa del Sol and Malaga.

On Tuesday, Jesus Riesco, director of Aemet said this February’s calima would not be as severe as March 2022 which broke all weather records in terms of dust concentration in the atmosphere. Currently affecting the Canary Island, the calima will extend to the southern half of the peninsula, even spreading north from Sunday.

As Thursday unfolds in Malaga, the BBC and Aemet report a fine day, top of 17, with a moderate breeze. Strong winds are forecast again for Friday, February 17 and then more sunshine into next week. The waves are winds were expected to reach 50 to 60 km/h.

According to José Luis Escudero, blogger at SUR.es weather, there is an ‘anticyclone to the north of the peninsula…the wind in anticyclones circulates clockwise, in storms it does the opposite. It is due to this large difference in pressure that strong winds occur.’

The red, dusty haze is expected to lie over the south of Spain from Friday February 17 and over the weekend. The haze is made up of dust, sand, ash and clay.  There may be some rain which will give southerners the ‘mud’ as it mixes with the suspended particles. The Carnival of Cadiz will be affected this weekend.

Those residents in Malaga with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions are advised to stay indoors with the windows closed and to wear masks to go out. If you experience chest pain, asthma or even anxiety seek help immediately. Typical symptoms from a calima are nasal obstruction, eye itching and cough.