# How bad is the calima in Las Palmas



## movingtospain2021 (Mar 31, 2021)

Hi,

I am trying to decide between moving to Mallorca and moving to Las Palmas and have just gotten a lot of useful feedback in a discussion I started about winter in Mallorca. I now have a questions about Las Palmas (where I spent a month before and which I really like as a city).

How bad is the calima (the sand cloud that apparently covers Las Palmas and other parts of the Canary Islands once in a while)?
How often does it happen?
How long does it usually stay there for?
I have light asthma, just take a bit of modulite every day and get the odd bit of wheezing, but have never had to go to hospital for this. Is the calima dangerous for people with asthma?
Can you just stay inside, keep the windows and doors closed, and be quite safe?
Does the air conditioning still work when the calima has descended onto the city?
And how bad does the heat get in those situations? Does the air conditioning help at all then?

Any help would be appreciated, I have decided to check out Mallorca in winter and Las Palmas some time in summer to see whether I can live with the donkey's belly, but I can't go there and guarantee a calima to see how it affects me, so rely on other people's knowledge.


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Cant comment on las palmas. But i can say that you're very likely to notice a huge improvement in your astmah in spain.

My late mother came to live out her final years with us and suffered terrible astmah in the UK. Often on steroids, often gasping, and many ambulance trips to hospital. 

Without a word of a lie, he breathing was almost perfect here. When she died we found many unused inhalers in her house. She was literally off the astmah meds and I never saw her even wheeze!


----------



## movingtospain2021 (Mar 31, 2021)

xicoalc said:


> Cant comment on las palmas. But i can say that you're very likely to notice a huge improvement in your astmah in spain.
> 
> My late mother came to live out her final years with us and suffered terrible astmah in the UK. Often on steroids, often gasping, and many ambulance trips to hospital.
> 
> Without a word of a lie, he breathing was almost perfect here. When she died we found many unused inhalers in her house. She was literally off the astmah meds and I never saw her even wheeze!


Great, that's good news. Do you know what the reason for the improvement is?


----------



## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

movingtospain2021 said:


> Great, that's good news. Do you know what the reason for the improvement is?


Unless you are moving to a big city, I would imagine air quality is better here than the Uk (as a family we lived in west london and my wife has asthma, my daughter had very bad eczema, both my son and I suffered from bad hay fever and dust allergies)

After moving to the Uk's south coast, all of us improved (my daughter then moved to australia and has not suffered with eczema since)

Me and the wife moved here (inland of Benidorm) last year and her steroid inhaler has not been used once, she still occasionally uses the normal one (which can be purchased over the counter here) and as yet Ive had no hay fever.

Coastal areas always have cleaner air and height also helps.


----------



## movingtospain2021 (Mar 31, 2021)

Barriej said:


> Unless you are moving to a big city, I would imagine air quality is better here than the Uk (as a family we lived in west london and my wife has asthma, my daughter had very bad eczema, both my son and I suffered from bad hay fever and dust allergies)
> 
> After moving to the Uk's south coast, all of us improved (my daughter then moved to australia and has not suffered with eczema since)
> 
> ...


Okay, I have most of these issues as well, though mildly, so this is good to know.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

You might discover as I have, that you have allergies you never knew you had! 

I suffered from hayfever for a couple of weeks a year in the UK. I was allergic to a specific pollen.

Here, from mid March until late summer (at least), I'm almost constantly taking anti-histamines. Almost as soon as one pollen 'ends', another one sets me off.


----------



## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I am not sure, but I imagine that asthma is just as common in Spain as in UK. I know my son can still get attacks here in Spain despite living in warmer climate


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

movingtospain2021 said:


> Great, that's good news. Do you know what the reason for the improvement is?


Here, the dr said its the micro climate. The air is clean and we are protected by mountains. I have no idea but she was better here


----------



## Hepa (Apr 2, 2018)

I believe there is a Gran Canaria group on Facebook. I live in the Canaries, El Hierro, we rarely suffer from the Calima, we are the most westerly and southerly island and least known, if and when the Calima arrives it has somewhat dissipated.

The Calima on Gran Canaria and the other eastern islands are not nice, the temperatures can be hot, sometimes blooming hot, the dust gets everywhere, windows and doors need to be shut, outside activities can be restricted, the sky turns orange in colour, air filters on cars need to be inspected and maybe changed. 

Fortunately the wind rarely blows from the east or south east so the Calima is an infrequent visitor and usually goes within a few days, it does not bother me here and if I had settled in Gran Canaria, which was my first choice, Calima would not have been a consideration, a bit like fog in London, a damned nuisance.


----------



## movingtospain2021 (Mar 31, 2021)

xabiaxica said:


> You might discover as I have, that you have allergies you never knew you had!
> 
> I suffered from hayfever for a couple of weeks a year in the UK. I was allergic to a specific pollen.
> 
> ...





Hepa said:


> I believe there is a Gran Canaria group on Facebook. I live in the Canaries, El Hierro, we rarely suffer from the Calima, we are the most westerly and southerly island and least known, if and when the Calima arrives it has somewhat dissipated.
> 
> The Calima on Gran Canaria and the other eastern islands are not nice, the temperatures can be hot, sometimes blooming hot, the dust gets everywhere, windows and doors need to be shut, outside activities can be restricted, the sky turns orange in colour, air filters on cars need to be inspected and maybe changed.
> 
> Fortunately the wind rarely blows from the east or south east so the Calima is an infrequent visitor and usually goes within a few days, it does not bother me here and if I had settled in Gran Canaria, which was my first choice, Calima would not have been a consideration, a bit like fog in London, a damned nuisance.


Thanks for the information, this is reassuring. I will have a look for the Facebook group.


----------



## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

It depends what triggers your asthma. For me the big triggers are cold and dust. Heat not so much.

I've dealt with the sandstorms in Fuerteventura. I don't remember it really bothering my breathing but it could strip skin off.

A/C will work unless the sand somehow blocks something in the machinery. I guess in theory that's possible 

Obviously keep the windows closed when the thing is blowing.


----------



## movingtospain2021 (Mar 31, 2021)

NickZ said:


> It depends what triggers your asthma. For me the big triggers are cold and dust. Heat not so much.
> 
> I've dealt with the sandstorms in Fuerteventura. I don't remember it really bothering my breathing but it could strip skin off.
> 
> ...


I also have sensitive skin, so that's an interesting point.

I'd be happy to stay inside with all the windows and doors closed for a few days, as long as the air conditioning keeps me cool and the whole thing doesn't happen all that often...


----------

