Lanzarote Weather
Anyone visiting Lanzarote over the last week or so will have experienced some of the highest temperatures recorded on the island so far this year. With the mercury hitting the mid-30C range – some 8-10C higher than the seasonal norm. Bearing little resemblance to the figures recorded in most Lanzarote weather forecasts.
And from a tourists point of view that’s great news – especially when escaping from the wettest start to a summer on record in the UK and Ireland. These conditions are all thanks to a kink in the Lanzarote climate called a Calima – with the temperatures being driven upwards – but by sand rather than sun.
This phenomenon is attributable to the fact that Lanzarote lies just 70 odd miles off the coast of the African mainland and in close proximity to the Sahara desert – which is where these Calimas originate.
As you might expect, the Sahara possesses a unique microclimate, largely determined by the prevailing influence of the Saharan Air Layer. This is a dry and dusty layer of atmosphere that usually forms over the Sahara from Spring to late Summer and which extends upwards from ground level to a height of a couple of kilometers.
The combination of a high pressure system over the Sahara and strong south easterly winds can have a major impact on the weather in Lanzarote. As it drives around 20% of this dusty air layer out into the Atlantic and over Lanzarote – as well as the rest of the Canary Islands – creating a Calima.
The dust-laden atmosphere then sits over the island like a cap, driving temperatures upwards. Whilst the remainder settles out into the ocean or washes out of the air with rainfall.
Depending on the strength of the wind the influence of a Calima can be felt as far away as the Western Atlatnic and the Caribbean. For example, in 2000 an incredible eight million tons of Saharan dust was blown as far west as Puerto Rico
For most visitors this phenomenon is often mistaken as hazy or even overcast weather. But at its worst a Calima can create almost fog like conditions – reducing visibility to such a degree that at its most extreme it can lead to the closure of airports. Which happened to Tenerife North for example in early 2002, when visibility dropped below the accepted safety level of 50 metres.
Once experienced, it isn’t hard to spot the obvious signs of a Calima. Aside from the more occluded and hazy appearance of the atmosphere the wind direction changes from the usually prevalent North Easterly to a South Easterly. The sky becomes white or grey rather than blue and cars and surfaces are covered in a fine layer of red-brown dust, the colour derived from Saharan sand and various iron rich particles.
Calimas are also usually (but not always) accompanied by high gusting winds – which along with the difference in wind direction – can turn the usually placid sea on the southern coastline abutted by the three main tourist resorts into a far more choppy proposition.
A thick Calima can even create difficulties for people with respiratory problems – and also tends to block sinuses. Which in turn can generate allergy like reactions such as sneezes, headaches and runny noses. Asthmatics can also experience difficulties.
Calimas can occur at any time of year – and during the cooler winter months can be especially welcome. Usually lasting for a period of from two or three days up to as long as a week. But more commonly they occur from March through to November. And when they hit in the summer months they can produce really extreme temperatures and conditions.
At one point in August 2004 for example, Lanzarote experienced temperatures of 125 degrees fahrenheit. Which made the island the hottest place on earth at that moment in time. With temperatures higher than can be found in Death Valley in Arizona. Which is usually the hottest spot on the planet at that time of year.
