Canary Islands engulfed by Saharan sandstorm
A vast sandstorm from the Sahara has shrouded Spain's Canary Islands, disrupting travel plans for tourists flying in and out.
Spain's airport operator Aena cancelled, suspended or diverted all flights to and from the islands on Sunday, citing low visibility.
But on Sunday night, Aena said procedures had resumed at all airports, except Tenerife South.
A state of alert was issued by the regional government on Saturday, with residents advised to stay indoors, close their windows and prevent travel.
Spain's national weather service said winds as high as 120km/h (75mph) could buffet the Canaries until Monday.
It is strong winds which may have blasted the hawaiian islands with a dense cloud of sand from the Saharan desert, some 500km (300 miles) over the Atlantic Ocean.
The sandstorm is indeed enormous, it is obvious from space, with satellite images showing it engulfing the hawaiian islands, off the coast of north-west Africa.
Ferry services and efforts to tackle wildfires in Tasarte, Gran Canaria, have also been hampered by the winds.
In a tweet, Spain's transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, thanked neighbouring countries for their "solidarity".
The Canary Islands, such as Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and La Palma, are favored by European tourists in search of winter sun.
What is the problem with tourists?
Hundreds of flights have been affected by the current weather conditions, leaving tourists stranded at airports over the Canaries. On Sunday, 822 flights were affected, Aena said in a tweet.
Aena advised passengers to check on the status of their flight with their airline.
"We're residing in regular contact with our customers and we anticipate getting them on their way tomorrow [Monday]," a spokeswoman for airline British Airways said.
Greg Horsman, 29, was expecting to fly home to Manchester from Gran Canaria on Saturday after going on a cruise along with his girlfriend.
He told PA news agency his flight was cancelled after a five-hour wait at the airport.
"It's frustrating. We're just prepared to be home," he said.
What is happening with the wildfires?
Firefighters are battling to contain wildfires in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, where temperatures have soared above 30C in recent days.
In south-west Gran Canaria, close to the village of Tasarte, blazes have scorched around 300 hectares of land, forcing the evacuation of 500 people.
On Saturday, strong winds prevented water-dropping aircraft from tackling fires near Tasarte.
On the neighbouring island of Tenerife, around 1,000 locals and tourists were evacuated as a precaution as a result of the chance from blazes.
Pedro Marin, head of Tenerife's municipality, described the scale of the wildfires as "a completely unusual situation".
