* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
The smoke from the fires in Canada could have already reached Catalonia after being first detected in Galicia. At least, this morning at dawn from Gavà beach, in Baix Llobregat, this is how you could see the color of the sky, as we can see in these snapshots that I have captured for Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia.
The smoke from the fires in Canada reached Galicia yesterday after traveling thousands of kilometers in the upper layers of the atmosphere, although it only generates a slight reduction in visibility without affecting air quality, as confirmed to Efe by Carlos Otero, MeteoGalicia meteorologist MeteoGalicia.
The meteorology expert has pointed out that “very intense” fires, such as those that affect Canada, are “capable of raising smoke to high levels of the atmosphere” and, in those layers, a current of air in height, the jet stream, is capable of “moving” that cloud thousands of kilometers.
Between Canada and Galicia there are more than 5,000 kilometers, a distance that the particles from the Canadian fires have managed to complete.
The CAMS model, which provides air quality predictions over Europe, reflects the arrival in the Iberian Peninsula of these particles that are “very fine and remain in suspension for a long time,” says Otero.
On Sunday the smoke from the fires began to be detected, yesterday Monday and this Tuesday are the days with the highest concentration, according to MeteoGalicia.
“It causes a slight reduction in visibility, the sensation of a cloudy environment, such as the heat, but there is no Saharan octopus or a concentration of humus”, says the meteorologist.
It adds that “at a surface level no changes in air quality are detected” and specifies that “it will gradually be diluted and dispersed in the atmosphere.”
The concentration in the rest of Spain, as in Catalonia, is lower than in Galicia. On Wednesday it will barely be noticed and on Thursday the entry of a front that will clean the environment is scheduled.
