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Thursday, 12. November 2026
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Calima La Palma today: Saharan dust forecast & air quality

NASA satellite image: Calima over the Canary Islands

No Calima on La Palma today, air quality good. The model shows no Calima for the next 4 days either.

Forecast as of today, 16:00.

Calima forecast for La Palma

Today
no Calima
Air good
0:00: 10 µg/m³, good1:00: 11 µg/m³, good2:00: 12 µg/m³, good3:00: 13 µg/m³, good4:00: 14 µg/m³, good5:00: 15 µg/m³, good6:00: 14 µg/m³, good7:00: 14 µg/m³, good8:00: 14 µg/m³, good9:00: 13 µg/m³, good10:00: 14 µg/m³, good11:00: 14 µg/m³, good12:00: 14 µg/m³, good13:00: 14 µg/m³, good14:00: 13 µg/m³, good15:00: 14 µg/m³, good16:00: 14 µg/m³, good17:00: 15 µg/m³, good18:00: 15 µg/m³, good19:00: 16 µg/m³, good20:00: 16 µg/m³, good21:00: 16 µg/m³, good22:00: 16 µg/m³, good23:00: 15 µg/m³, good
Peak 16 µg/m³ around 19:00
Tomorrow
no Calima
Air good
0:00: 15 µg/m³, good1:00: 14 µg/m³, good2:00: 14 µg/m³, good3:00: 14 µg/m³, good4:00: 13 µg/m³, good5:00: 13 µg/m³, good6:00: 13 µg/m³, good7:00: 12 µg/m³, good8:00: 12 µg/m³, good9:00: 12 µg/m³, good10:00: 11 µg/m³, good11:00: 11 µg/m³, good12:00: 11 µg/m³, good13:00: 10 µg/m³, good14:00: 9 µg/m³, good15:00: 9 µg/m³, good16:00: 9 µg/m³, good17:00: 10 µg/m³, good18:00: 10 µg/m³, good19:00: 11 µg/m³, good20:00: 11 µg/m³, good21:00: 11 µg/m³, good22:00: 11 µg/m³, good23:00: 11 µg/m³, good
Peak 15 µg/m³ around 0:00
Saturday
no Calima
Air good
0:00: 10 µg/m³, good1:00: 10 µg/m³, good2:00: 10 µg/m³, good3:00: 10 µg/m³, good4:00: 10 µg/m³, good5:00: 10 µg/m³, good6:00: 10 µg/m³, good7:00: 11 µg/m³, good8:00: 11 µg/m³, good9:00: 11 µg/m³, good10:00: 12 µg/m³, good11:00: 12 µg/m³, good12:00: 11 µg/m³, good13:00: 11 µg/m³, good14:00: 11 µg/m³, good15:00: 11 µg/m³, good16:00: 11 µg/m³, good17:00: 11 µg/m³, good18:00: 11 µg/m³, good19:00: 11 µg/m³, good20:00: 11 µg/m³, good21:00: 10 µg/m³, good22:00: 10 µg/m³, good23:00: 10 µg/m³, good
Peak 12 µg/m³ around 10:00
Sunday
no Calima
Air good
0:00: 10 µg/m³, good1:00: 10 µg/m³, good2:00: 10 µg/m³, good3:00: 10 µg/m³, good4:00: 10 µg/m³, good5:00: 10 µg/m³, good6:00: 10 µg/m³, good7:00: 9 µg/m³, good8:00: 9 µg/m³, good9:00: 9 µg/m³, good10:00: 9 µg/m³, good11:00: 9 µg/m³, good12:00: 9 µg/m³, good13:00: 9 µg/m³, good14:00: 10 µg/m³, good15:00: 10 µg/m³, good16:00: 11 µg/m³, good17:00: 12 µg/m³, good18:00: 12 µg/m³, good19:00: 12 µg/m³, good20:00: 12 µg/m³, good21:00: 12 µg/m³, good22:00: 12 µg/m³, good23:00: 12 µg/m³, good
Peak 12 µg/m³ around 17:00
Monday
no Calima
Air good
0:00: 12 µg/m³, good1:00: 12 µg/m³, good2:00: 11 µg/m³, good3:00: 11 µg/m³, good4:00: 10 µg/m³, good5:00: 10 µg/m³, good6:00: 10 µg/m³, good7:00: 10 µg/m³, good8:00: 9 µg/m³, good9:00: 9 µg/m³, good10:00: 9 µg/m³, good11:00: 9 µg/m³, good12:00: 9 µg/m³, good13:00: 9 µg/m³, good14:00: 9 µg/m³, good15:00: 9 µg/m³, good16:00: 9 µg/m³, good17:00: 10 µg/m³, good18:00: 10 µg/m³, good19:00: 10 µg/m³, good20:00: 11 µg/m³, good21:00: 11 µg/m³, good22:00: 11 µg/m³, good23:00: 11 µg/m³, good
Peak 12 µg/m³ around 0:00

Calima over the next 48 hours

Today 18:00
15
good
21:00
16
good
Tomorrow 0:00
15
good
3:00
14
good
6:00
13
good
9:00
12
good
12:00
11
good
15:00
9
good
18:00
10
good
21:00
11
good
Saturday 0:00
10
good
3:00
10
good
6:00
10
good
9:00
11
good
12:00
11
good
15:00
11
good

PM10 in µg/m³, hourly model values, local time.

Measured on La Palma

StationLatest24 hModel
La Grama, Breña Alta, 245 m7 13:004 good14
San Antonio, Breña Baja, 208 m7 13:00n/a14
Las Balsas, San Andrés y Sauces, 364 m1 13:002 good14
El Pilar, Santa Cruz de La Palma, 52 m10 13:007 good14

PM10 in µg/m³. Latest: most recent hourly value with time, about two hours behind. 24 h: average of the last 24 hours. Model: forecast for the same hour.

Calima on La Palma

La Palma lies quite a distance away from the Sahara. Consequently, the ‚Isla Bonita‘ is affected by Saharan dust less frequently than the eastern islands. In 2025, the air quality monitoring network took readings at four stations: in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Breña Alta, Breña Baja and San Andrés y Sauces. On seven days, the average concentration on La Palma exceeded 50 micrograms of PM10 per cubic metre, which is the EU’s daily limit value. On two of those days, the concentration was over 100.

The central mountain range divides La Palma into an eastern and a western side. When issuing Calima warnings, the Aemet accordingly distinguishes between three areas: the east, the west and the high-altitude areas.

How we measure Calima on La Palma

The forecast is based on the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS). This service produces forecasts of Saharan sand and particulate matter in the air for up to five days. The figures are updated every three hours. The model grid cell is approximately 45 kilometres in size, covering a large part of the island. A ‚Calima day‘ is defined as a day when dust levels exceed the threshold and consist largely of desert particulate matter. The classification ranging from ‚good‘ to ‚extremely poor‘ follows the guidelines of the European Air Quality Index.

Teneriffa News has verified his calculations and predictions against the model by comparing them with all the measurements from 2025.

Advice from the authorities regarding Calima on La Palma

If a Calima event occurs, the health authorities advise, above all, to avoid spending long periods outdoors. People should also ensure they drink plenty of fluids. Physical exertion outdoors is strongly discouraged – particularly for children, older people and those with asthma, COPD or cardiovascular conditions.

The Canary Islands Health Authority reports that a Calima can dry out the airways and irritate the bronchi. You can find the health authority’s recommendations here.

Calima news from La Palma

Calima on the other islands

Calima Tenerife · Calima Gran Canaria · Calima Lanzarote · Calima Fuerteventura · Calima La Gomera · Calima El Hierro

Calima across all the Canary Islands at a glance

La Palma weather at a glance

Data: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service CAMS (forecast model), Open-Meteo (model data access), AEMET (warnings), Canary Islands government air quality network, via the European Environment Agency (measurements).