The Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has escalated its heat warnings in the Canary Islands, moving Gran Canaria from a yellow to an orange advisory, indicating significant danger. Remarkably, AEMET has stressed that this is the first time ever that it has had to activate a warning of this level (significant danger) during the month of October anywhere in Spain.
A gorgeous and exciting last weekend of September ahead as we also say Hello to October! There are many interesting events and festival are taking place this weekend like the free music festival “Tourifest” in Playa del Ingles, the North Coast Festival in Moya. There are patron saints’ festivities to enjoy in Valsequillo, Agüimes and in Valleseco as well as a double fair in Ingenio with Km.0 Fair Gran Canaria and Feria del Sol.
In a rare incident, a tuna fishing boat was reportedly “attacked” by a marlin yesterday, leading to an emergency situation some 30 miles off the coast of Lanzarote. The 90-ton vessel was in peril, endangering the lives of its five crew members.
Right now the Colorado beetle plague, which forced the commercial flow of this product from the United Kingdom to be interrupted, has been controlled, but it is not eradicated. Following Monday’s Government Council meeting, Minister of Agriculture, Narvay Quintero stressed that when the risk is over, the Ministry of Agriculture, which has jurisdiction, will lift the phytosanitary restrictions. The Canary Islands are set to see the return of potato imports from the United Kingdom after experiencing weeks of local market stress. High prices and concerns over locally available potatoes had been plaguing consumers, throughout August and September. The prices for white potato varieties soared by up to 60% to above €4/kilogram.
Spain’s central government has clarified that the responsibility for covering the burial costs of migrants who die at sea rests firmly with local municipalities. This clarification comes in response to La Alcaldesa, O. Bueno, the current mayoress of Mogán on Gran Canaria, having recently declared that her municipality will no longer fund these burials.
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The onset of autumn brings with it a slew of astronomical events, including a partial solar eclipse scheduled for this October 14, 2023. The eclipse will be annular, primarily visible in the Americas. However, it will also be partially visible in the Canary Islands, including on Gran Canaria, albeit with very low magnitudes. From the five westernmost Canary Islands (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria), the eclipse will be barely noticeable since the sunset will occur shortly after its beginning.
The Spanish multinational fishing company, Nueva Pescanova, has been planning to launch the world’s first commercial octopus farm in Gran Canaria’s port of Las Palmas. Expected to produce about 3,000 tonnes of octopus meat annually, the proposed facility is attracting widespread attention and criticism. Much of the scientific community, as well as animal activists, have expressed opposition to the controversial plans.
#WeCrossMountains
As Gran Canaria ushers in the first week of Autumn, a bit of a mixed bag in terms of weather, generally warm across the island in the mid to upper 20s, and characterised by some varying levels of cloudiness and steady temperatures.
Autumn is here, and it is the start of the apple harvest, as the fall equinox arrives this weekend. The weather predictions are promising some cloud cover and possibly even a little rain, mostly in the evenings/nightime at the summits and to the north, but best just to wait and see as Gran Canaria weather is usually fantastic particularly on the south of the island. There is so much going on this weekend, there is little bit of something for everyone.
A rather infamous and, you might even say, outspoken Tiktoker landed in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria for a holiday last week. With her outlandish catchphrase “Roots darling, roots!” and a bombastic attitude on full display, Chelsea Lee Arts is not, shall we say, everybody’s cup of tea; though she can boast more than 4m likes on the video sharing platform. She is certainly a larger than life personality in many ways who, according to some reports, struggles with bipolar issues, and say some, her mental health. But hey, doesn’t everyone, at least sometimes?¿.
A busy September weekend ahead! There are traditional patron saints’ festivities just getting started and some just finishing up. Guía are celebrating their very traditional Las Marías festivities, there is a Romería pilgrimage offering in the mountain town of Tejeda, a Wine and Tapas Night to enjoy in Playa de Mogán, as well as various ‘End of Summer’ celebrations in few different locations. Autumn is just round the corner.
Over the next few days Gran Canaria weather is expected to be influenced by a front associated with a low-pressure system formed in northern Portugal. According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), this will bring rain to the islands over the weekend. The northern areas of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote are expected to be most affected.
#WeCrossMountains
This summer some Gran Canaria’s beaches, particularly Las Canteras in the capital and the coast of Mogán on the southwest of the island, have been affected by significant algal blooms. A team of experts from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Icmat), CSIC, and Digital Earth Solutions (DES) report that they have determined these blooms are likely to become more common over the years to come, due to the warming of the Atlantic Ocean in the Macaronesia region, a result of global warming.
