Saharan dust storms bring risk of ‘blood rain’ and fiery skies to southern Europe
March 2, 2026
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Huge Saharan dust storm brings risk of ‘blood rain’ and fiery skies to southern Europe
Known as “Calima,“This plume of desert dust could affect Spain, Portugal and France, bringing with it sand-laden, rust-colored rain.
Saharan dust turns the sky orange in Spain in 2022.
Carlos Gil Andreu/Getty Images
Heavy rain will fall. Plumes of dust, raised by the winds over the Sahara Desert, move over Western Europe. This annual phenomenon, known in Spanish as “Calima,” which literally translates to “the mist” – means that a plume of dust and sand threatens an area spanning Spain, Portugal and France.
“Blood rain” – essentially falling red mud created by mixing sand and precipitation – is expected, as are dangerous weather conditions and, of course, red haze. Conditions could last for several days, according to some forecasts. Rain, despite its name, is not harmful in itself. But public health authorities are urging the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems to limit their time outdoors so as not to inhale the dust.
Sahara dust covers a car in Madrid in 2022.
Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Every year, tens of millions of tons of particles from the Sahara are released into the air and dispersed across the world, with some dust even reaching the Americas.
This plume appears to be due to a local weather phenomenon known as DANA (an acronym for “isolated high-level depression” in Spanish), which is an isolated high-altitude depression that forms when cold air meets warm air over the Mediterranean Sea, causing warmer air to rise rapidly and dense clouds to form. When a DANA and Calima Combined, they can create severe and even dangerous weather conditions in the region.
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