Questions and answers: Why is the haze more intense than other times? Will it be more and more frequent in Spain?

• Calima Rain of mud: an "exceptional" cloud of Saharan dust runs through the Peninsula

• How What is haze and why does it occur?

A rain of dust like no one remembered is invading many parts of the Spanish geography.

Many places where these phenomena are rare -and, usually, of little intensity- have dawned covered by a strange yellow 'varnish' due to the unusual haze.

How did you get there?

How long will it last?

Will it be more and more frequent?

Is it related to climate change?

We answer these and more questions:

What exactly is happening?

Since Monday afternoon, a large amount of suspended dust from the Sahara desert is causing an "extraordinary haze episode, with very significant reductions in visibility in large areas of the Peninsula," says Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (Aemet).

Cities like

.

It is exceptional that something like this happens in these places due to the dust in suspension, but even more so that it happens in all of them at the same time, being so distant from each other.

How long is it going to last?

"It is, as we say, an extraordinary episode due to its intensity, but it will also be so due to its persistence, since it is expected to continue to carry dust in large quantities during

," says Del Countryside.

What areas are the most affected?

On Tuesday at noon, the most affected areas were Murcia, the east of Andalusia and the south of the Valencian Community, as well as Castilla-La Mancha and the Community of Madrid.

throughout Spanish and European territory.

In the early hours of Tuesday, several air quality control stations, as has been the case in Guadalajara, Madrid or Toledo, have reached concentrations of PM10 particles of more than 700g/m3, while

, according to data released by 'eltiempo.es'.

The limit values ​​by which PM10 and PM2.5 are considered harmful to health are 50 and 25, respectively.

Therefore, values ​​well above the limit have been reached in many areas of Spain, which is today

due to these particles.

"This mass of dust not only affects the Peninsula - especially areas of the southeast, center and west, but, in the next few hours, it will also reach

," they warn, for its part, from the Aemet.

How has it originated?

"The causes of the arrival of this African air mass must be sought in the Celia storm. This area of ​​low pressure -centered in the Gulf of Cadiz, more or less- drives intense winds from the Sahara desert, heavily loaded with dust because there, in the Sahara, the winds have also blown with intensity, they have lifted the sand from the surface and

"explains Del Campo.

"This suspended dust has traveled in low levels of the atmosphere to the Peninsula."

Why is it more intense than other times?

The fact that the dust in suspension has traveled at lower levels of the atmosphere than usual, below four kilometers, has contributed to the greater intensity of the haze.

In addition, on this occasion the concentration of particles has also been very high, which has caused them to fall on a large scale on the Peninsula.

"They fall by gravity, in

And this in what, in many cities in Spain, has given rise to a significant layer of dust, on cars, and also on the ground itself," Del Campo details.

In contrast, other times the dust has fallen carried by a light rain, which is known as wet dispersion.

In this episode, as we say, there has been both dry deposition and wet deposition," adds the meteorologist.

How strange is this phenomenon?

Between 2004 and 2009, dust in suspension was recorded up to 30% of the days in the southeast of the Peninsula;

18% of the days in the downtown area;

and 10% in the peninsular northwest, according to a recent study.

However, they were

.

In addition, haze occurs more frequently in summer, while, on this occasion, we have not yet completely said goodbye to winter.

Is it the biggest dust shower known?

"It is difficult to determine if this entry is the most intense that has occurred since we have records," Del Campo admits.

"The truth is that, on other occasions, there have also been intense inflows. For example, in a study carried out by the Aemet delegation in the region of Murcia, it is found that, in the episodes that gave rise to mud rains between 2003 and 2017, the maximum optical thickness of aerosols - it is a measure of the amount of dust in the atmosphere, based on how the arrival of solar radiation interferes with this dust - was 1.9 units. of dust prediction, for the afternoon of Tuesday 15, the optical thickness of aerosols predicted for the region of Murcia could even exceed three units,

", he argues.

"But we do not have data that is too long in time. We do not have very long-term data to be able to draw more significant conclusions; but, in any case, it is an extraordinary and very intense intrusion," summarizes the Aemet spokesman.

"On the peninsula it is very exceptional to reach the concentrations that are taking place on this occasion," says Mar Gómez, doctor in Physical Sciences and head of Meteorology at 'eltiempo.es'.

"This is an extreme event where

" she adds.

Is it related to climate change?

"What is not very clear either is the relationship between climate change and an increase in these episodes of dust in suspension in our country," answers Del Campo.

"A clear trend has not just been observed, neither in the Peninsula, nor in the Balearic Islands, nor in the Canary Islands, although it is true that in the last 100 years, the source surface of the dust -that is, the Sahara desert- has increased its extension by about 10%.

. And, with climate change, with rising temperatures, aridity is increasing," he reasons.

"But the frequency and intensity of the meteorological patterns also influence these episodes of dust in suspension, that is, the depth of the storms and their location," Del Campo points out.

"After all, the location and depth of these storms are what cause the winds necessary for the dust to reach us in suspension as far as the Peninsula. In this sense,

about the changes that climate change may be causing. in these patterns of frequency and intensity of storms, which favor the arrival of dust in our territory".

How can it affect health?

"In Madrid, Almería or Valladolid

", warns Mar Gómez.

"The dust in suspension, apart from causing a decrease in visibility, and apart from staining surfaces, significantly worsens the quality of the air", adds, for his part, the spokesman for the Aemet.

"The presence of very fine particles, less than 10 microns in diameter, makes the air quality worse. During the remainder of Tuesday and Wednesday, the air quality will be between unfavorable and extremely unfavorable in much of the Iberian Peninsula , especially in the southeast, center and northwest of the peninsula due to the presence of these fine dust particles in suspension.It has been shown that

, especially in people with previous pathologies.Therefore , extreme precautions should be taken while the episode persists," advises Del Campo.

Will these episodes become more frequent?

"This episode of haze could show us a preview of our future," says Gómez.

"Although it cannot be directly linked to global warming change without an attribution study, it is anticipated that these dust infusions may become

."

According to a study by the Complutense University of Madrid, published in 2021, the arrival of dust from the Sahara to the Iberian Peninsula has increased by 400%.

"The dust exported by the Sahara

", specifies the Ph.D. in Physical Sciences.

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