Can anybody tell me the difference between a clima and a scirocco (perhaps mis-spelt)? Please don't tell me scirocco is a volkswagon car as google has pages on that.

I think the scirocco has 4 wheel drive!

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Janet seems to know all the ins and outs of this so will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong.

A Calima comes in from the East and is a warm wind filled with dust and sand. A Scirocco comes in from the South and is has much stronger winds and higher temperatures and often without the dust. The Scirocco can push the temperatures well into the 40's.

Today is one of the clearest, warmest, sunniest days for a while now. Perfect in fact, well here in the West anyway.

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Yes, Calima from the East, with sand particles blown straight across from the Moroccan Sahara. This is why Fuerteventura has the white-yellow sand dunes (and Gran Canaria too to some extent), because the calima obviously reaches the Eastern islands first. The Scirocco, by contrast, is a south south-easterly, which is why it's (often far) warmer ... but still with some Saharan sand in particles. There's less sand in a Scirocco because it has lost much in transit ... usually over the Cape Verde islands.

The Spanish tend to call both calimas, but technically, if you see a "calima" coming in from the south and/or west, it's actually a Scirocco.

The first pic below is a calima ... coming straight from the East. The second is a scirocco swirling out from Africa over Cape Verde, and coming up to the Canaries from the south-west.

Attached Images

	canarias-nasa.jpg (12.3 KB, 76 views)
	Scirocco.jpg (21.5 KB, 51 views)

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The siroccos last more than a week - the calimas; only 2-3 days.

That's how I know the difference..

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I asked my Canarian friend this question today and he said they are one in the same depending what island your on what you call them.....

That's what all the Spanish say! Most of them say calima regardless of direction! They're different winds though, or strictly speaking, a Scirocco is a wind, a calima is a sandstorm.

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Calima very rarely appears in phrasebooks/translation dictionaries. Scirroco usually does.

Thanks everybody. I remember a long time ago being told that in Tenerife they were two different things coming from different directions but you have all made it clearer and more interesting. Thanks Janet for the photo.
I know anytime we are over whilst there is a calima the ambulances seem to be doing overtime, not good for anybody with breathing problems/chest conditions.

With both phenomena, the humidity can drop below 15%, which is actually dangerous to health.

Try to raise the indoor humidity if your throat swells or breathing becomes difficult

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