From the Atlas to the Canaries, the Harmattan carries the dust

The dust haze (calima) has once again enveloped the entire Canary archipelago. To understand why suspended dust reaches the islands—and occasionally the Iberian Peninsula—we need to know the international term behind the phenomenon: the harmattan.

What the Harmattan Is, Where It Comes From, and Why It Forms

The dry wind that creates a massive dust carpet over West Africa is called the harmattan. In the Canary Islands the word translates directly to calima.

• The term harmattan derives from the Akan word haramata, spoken in western Ghana, and refers to a dry, dust‑laden wind that blows across West and North‑West Africa, especially from November to April.
• The process works in three steps:
  1. Near‑ground wind intensifies after a cold front passes.
  2. These winds converge against the Atlas Mountains.
  3. The air lifts and suspends desert dust for hours or even days.

The Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and NASA highlighted the event. AEMET posted a thread on X showing satellite images from the European EUMETSAT fleet on 30 April, revealing a huge wall of dust moving from the Sahara toward the Atlantic and the Canaries.

“A dry, dust‑laden wind known as the harmattan swept across northwestern Africa.”
— NASA, March of the Harmattan (30 March 2026)

From Calima to Harmattan to the Perfect Storm in Africa: The Haboob

While the Canaries issued a pre‑alert, Morocco declared a full alert for several regions because of severe visibility problems. When the dust storm intensifies even further, it is called a haboob—a term originating from Sudan and South Sudan that now describes massive desert storms worldwide.

• Scale: Haboobs can form walls up to 100 km wide, several kilometres high, and travel at 35–100 km/h.
• Impact: In the Canaries, the dust settled over the horizon, turning familiar landscapes into a muted, earthy tableau. Flights at Tenerife Airport were disrupted, and the haze reached Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and even La Palma.

The AEMET likens the harmattan’s behavior to the gust front of a convective storm, where warm air rises and cold air descends, pushing and lifting air at the surface. It is not a single episode but a chain of mechanisms that fit together like pieces of a larger atmospheric gear.

Current Situation (as of the article’s publication)

• The worst of the dust episode is calming in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
• AEMET continues to issue yellow warnings for suspended dust, but forecasts indicate that the calima will subside during the morning on both islands.
• The Canary Government activated the pre‑alert on 30 March, anticipating the arrival of the phenomenon over the eastern islands.

Key Takeaways

• Harmattan = Calima in the Canaries.
• The dust originates from West African deserts, carried by a dry wind that intensifies after cold fronts and is forced upward by the Atlas Mountains.
• Satellite monitoring (EUMETSAT) and agencies like AEMET and NASA provide real‑time tracking of the dust plume.
• When the dust storm reaches extreme dimensions, it becomes a haboob, capable of drastically reducing visibility and affecting aviation.
• Pre‑alerts and alerts are issued by regional authorities (Canary Government, Moroccan agencies) to mitigate safety risks.

The phenomenon serves as a vivid reminder of the interconnectedness of weather systems across continents, where a wind that begins over the Atlas Mountains can travel thousands of kilometres to blanket the Atlantic islands in a fine, earthy haze.