Several flights have been cancelled across the Canary Islands after the arrival of 'Storm Celia'.
The storm hit the Spanish islands on Monday bringing with it snow and strong winds. This was followed by a mass of hot air from the Sahara which dumped red dust on terraces, streets and cars.
Spain's weather service described the dust storm from the Sahara as "extraordinary and very intense". The weather service said that the mass of hot air from Africa, which was brought in by a storm that delivered some much-needed rain for drought-hit Spain, has also pushed up temperatures in some areas to 20C.
READ MORE: Met Office issue April weather update with Brits set to roast in 28C Saharan heatwave
According to The Canary News, the freak weather led to seven flights being cancelled and four diverted. Flights were reportedly cancelled from La Palma, Tenerife North, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
The service forecast that the dust will continue to accumulate until Wednesday and could reach northwards as far as the Netherlands and north-western Germany. Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for Spain's weather service, said that while it was unclear if climate change had a direct link to this episode, the expansion of the Sahara desert over the past century has increased the potential for larger dust storm events in Europe.
He also said that the increasingly turbulent weather patterns linked to climate change could play a part. Mr del Campo said: "There are many concerns regarding the impact that climate change is having on the patterns of the frequency and intensity of the storms that favour the arrival of dust to our country,"
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