Madeira should not be affected by the dust cloud from the Sahara, which is expected to hit the Iberian Peninsula on Tuesday.
This is the news from Victor Prior on Radio 88.8, who is responsible for the regions Meteorological Observatory. However, he warns that the air will become drier over the next few days, especially in the mountainous regions.
In an official statement the Portuguese Institute of Atmosphere and Sea (IPMA), advise that dust from the Sahara will cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the Caribbean, due to the influence of trade winds and the Azorean anticyclone. This, they believe will be “particularly intense,” and a high concentration of air particles is expected to affect the air quality in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
However, despite being an inconvenience these “dusts, rich in minerals and nutrients, eventually settle in the ocean and on land, thus constituting an important natural fertilisation mechanism.”
The dust clouds through Portugal and Spain are associated with a mass of heat from North Africa which will travel through the Iberian Peninsula this week. Moreover, the IPMA has eight districts on the mainland under a yellow warning for elevated temperatures.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
