ARCHIVED - More blood rain on the way to the province of Alicante during and after Easter
The number of dust clouds reaching Spain from North Africa has been increasing since 1990
Red mist or “blood rain”, which originates in the Sahara desert, is becoming increasingly common in the south of Spain and is expected to cover the province of Alicante for the third time this year during the Easter weekend.
The cloud of Saharan red dust is already visible over the province and in neighbouring Murcia but will intensify in the days after Easter.
At the end of this week, a mass of cold air accompanied by storms and showers is expected in the province, followed by an increased concentration of the red mist from Wednesday (April 7) from the north of Africa. However, according to the Climatology Laboratory from the University of Alicante, the blood rain won’t have as high a concentration of dust as the last episode of red mist in February.
This kind of precipitation reduces the level of acidity in the atmosphere and improves the air quality present during the period of “red haze”, which can cause breathing difficulties in those suffering from conditions which provoke shortness of breath, although the red rain leaves behind an unsightly coat of dust on pavements, cars and terraces.
The number of incidents of blood rain has been growing in Spain since the 1990’s and the atmospherical phenomenon is reportedly due to climate change, as it is caused by an increasingly frequent movement of air currents from North Africa which reach the Mediterranean and southern Europe.
During the last major episode earlier this year, snow in the Pyrenees was stained a dirty red colour and even ski-resorts in the Italian Alps reported a coating of red dust over its normally gleaming white snow.