Spain’s Costa del Sol Set for Saharan Sand Storm that could Blanket the Coast

Meteorologist David Pinkitt has warned that a Saharan sand storm is brewing up in Northern Africa that threatens to blanket the entire Costa del Sol.

Dr Pinkitt has been following the storm for weeks and is convinced it is heading this way. Should it occur it would not be the first time the Coast has been ‘showered in sand’.

75 mph winds blew a sandstorm from the Saharan desert across the Atlantic Ocean onto the Canary Islands in February this year. The phenomena is called a “calima,” and it’s not the first time it’s happened. Speaking on Spanish national television, regional president Angel Victor Torres said it was the worst sand storm he had seen in 40 years. He called it a “nightmare weekend.”

Along with disrupting hundreds of flights, the high winds also made wildfires in the region worse. On Gran Canaria, one of the islands, local reports said the air quality was the worst in the world. Dr Pinkett said: “I’m watching developments very carefully and I’m ready to alert the emergency services as soon as the storm starts to head this way.”