Dust in the Canary Islands
Island-by-island tracking of Saharan dust using CAMS mineral dust aerosol optical depth (AOD 550).
Dust outbreaks often raise PM10, reduce visibility and worsen respiratory symptoms. Here we expose that signal directly so it can add context to the map and station pages.
Current signal
No active dust
We are having trouble refreshing the feed
We detected a recent failed automatic update. The official portal may also be delayed, so we keep retrying automatically.
Known signal: The latest automatic refresh finished with issues on Aug 26, 2026, 6:38 AM. It will retry without manual intervention.
The official portal can take several minutes to refresh. We retry the automatic update every 10 minutes.
- Last valid measurement
- Aug 25, 2026, 1:00 PM
- Latest automatic update
- With issuesAug 26, 2026, 6:38 AM
Current status on La Graciosa
No dust
- La GraciosaDust AOD 550 nm 0.04Down 0.02 vs 24 h earlier
Updated: Aug 25, 2026, 1:00 PM
Last 7 days
PM10 and AOD on La Graciosa
Hourly average of measured PM10 from stations on La Graciosa and island-level AOD over the last 7 days.
How to read the chart bands
What this signal means
AOD measures how much radiation aerosols attenuate across the atmospheric column. It does not replace PM10 concentrations, but it helps tell when a particle spike is consistent with a large-scale Saharan dust intrusion.
As a reference: we consider dust light from an AOD of 0.18, moderate from 0.35 and intense above 0.55.
How to use it
Use it together with the AQI and measured pollutants. If dust is moderate or intense, consider reducing prolonged intense outdoor exercise if you feel discomfort, protecting eyes and airways, and keeping a closer eye on children, older adults and people with asthma or COPD.