Temperatures soared in the Canary Islands yesterday thanks to the arrival of a Saharan advection, an intense heat accompanied by a dense layer of haze, and left streets empty as people stayed indoors because “it was too hot” with temperatures of almost 40 degrees reached in some parts of the Archipelago as reported by the State Meteorological Agency in the Canary Islands (Aemet).
The areas where it was hottest were:
The south of Lanzarote: 39.7 degrees
The south of Fuerteventura: 38.4 degrees
The west of Gran Canaria: 38.3 degrees
Central parts of Tenerife: 35.6 degrees
The west of La Gomera: 35.3 degrees
Central parts of La Palma: 35.1 degrees
The south of El Hierro: 30.8 degrees.
Faced with this meteorological situation that can pose health risks, the Government of the Canary Islands has declared an alert for high temperatures in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, with advice to stay indoors wherever possible and to hydrate as much as possible.
They have also activated an alert for the risk of forest fires in the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, due to the conditions known as the ‘three 30s’. This is because current conditions are the most dangerous for fires to start and spread because it is hot, dry and windy.
The three 30s:
Hot – temperatures above 30 degrees
Dry – humidity above 30%
Windy – winds today from the northwest above 30km/h.
Weather-wise today, temperatures will remain high in the eastern islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria, as they are closest to the source of the heat advection from the Sahara, and will drop in Tenerife to around 30-32 degrees and slightly more in the smaller islands in the west. The haze will still be present as it will be with us for another couple of days.
