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ARCHIVED - Third day of Saharan dust: Spain has the worst air quality in the world
Facemasks advised outside as Spain tops the leaderboard for the country with the world’s worst air quality this week, ahead of China and India
The orange haze that has covered the sky over much of Spain, including Murcia and Alicante, is still here after three days and looks set to remain for the rest of the week.
This strange weather phenomenon, which has coloured the Spanish skies a ghostly yellow-red-orange hue and is known in Spanish as a ‘calima’, is caused by the presence of dust and sand particles, and even ash and clay, which have been brought over on the wind by Storm Celia from Africa and are suspended in the air.
Consequently, the air quality in much of the country is “extremely unfavourable”, according to the index of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. In fact, Spain is the country with the worst air quality on the planet this week, as revealed by the Climatological Observatory of the University of Alicante.
According to the updated classification of air pollution, Spain is at the top of the table, even above countries with historically poorer environmental quality like China and India.
In Murcia, only in the municipalities of Cartagena, La Unión and La Aljorra did the data improve slightly to “very unfavourable”, while in the relatively unpopulated Altiplano area the situation is “reasonably good”.
Health experts are advising people to avoid physical activities and intense sports, both indoors and outdoors, especially for people suffering from respiratory problems. If you absolutely must go outside, wear a protective facemask, preferably of the FFP2 variety. In addition, the authorities are also calling for people to avoid driving on main roads to reduce emissions that will make the air quality even worse.
In addition, the haze will be accompanied by rainfall in places like Andalucía, Murcia and Alicante this Wednesday, which will bring with it more ‘muddy rain’ to make cars dirty and get in your hair. According to the weather forecast from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the showers may occasionally be accompanied by thunderstorms and be heavy in some places.
Image: Ayuntamiento de Totana
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