Costa Blanca woke up this morning (Friday, 14 November) to a curious sight. A blanket of red Saharan dust drifted in and produced what many locals call blood rain.
Sunlight dimmed, the sky turned hazy and the streets looked as if nature had decided to redecorate everything with a reddish filter. Cars have taken the worst of it.
Many residents are already predicting long queues at the car wash over the weekend. The dust cloud from North Africa has also pushed air pollution levels in Alicante to orange alert. The situation should ease once sea winds start to clear the air.
Costa Blanca’s blood rain: An unusual episode
AEMET, the Spanish meteorological agency, says this unusual episode is a side effect of Storm Claudia. A deep low pressure system to the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula has nudged the winds southward. This has allowed the suspended Saharan dust to sweep into the region.
The thickest concentration of red dust arrived on Thursday afternoon and peaked early on Friday morning.
The dense cloud has dragged air quality down to orange level. Fortunately it should only be a short lived nuisance. Conditions are expected to improve once the sun strengthens and the breeze carries the particles away.
