The strange phenomenon which soiled the Pyrenees: “Rain of blood”

This is not the desert, they are the Pyrenees mountains. With an unusual postcard, they woke up this Saturday, as if from Sahara it was. It is, in fact, the sand of the famous region of Africa is the main responsible for this particular image, which surprised locals and foreigners alike and which was not glimpsed, at least with this intensity, for more than three decades.

The strong wind coming from the south and the heavy rains that occurred last Friday and Saturday, covered a good part of the south of Spain, like the cities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Aragon and Valencia, in addition to spreading through Andorra, southern France and much of Switzerland. Not only have the mountains been hit, but also roads and vehicles covered with dust.

Unusual images that the snow-capped mountains of the Pyrenees gave us this Saturday. (Photo: State of Aragon Meteorological Agency / Twitter)

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In the Canary Islands, Spain, an archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa, the entry of this dust is generally something common, also affecting the entire Mediterranean coast and southern Spain. . This can lead to blind orange prints for long periods of time. In reality, That same February, a similar situation had already occurred, although on a lesser scale and intensity.

How do the “rains of blood” occur

What happened in the Pyrenees It is a meteorological phenomenon known as “rains of blood”, which has a scientific explanation. “Mud is caused by the mixing of dust rising from North Africa with precipitation. The dust comes from the sand of the Sahara Desert, which crossed the length of the Iberian Peninsula during the first week of February 2021, ”explained meteorologists from Aemet Aragón, in dialogue with El Diario Vasco de España.

For this to happen, the rains must be very light, almost invaluable, facilitating that when water evaporates, the solid residues of dust from the Sahara desert remain deposited on cars, streets, balconies and, as has happened in snow-capped mountains, the snow.

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Continuing the scientific arguments, it must be taken into account that raindrops are not only made of water. To be generated, they need particles called condensation nuclei, to which water joins to form the drop. These nuclei can consist of salts, organic matter and also dust from the Sahara, or any corner of the world, in suspension.