Sulfur dioxide from the La Palma volcano will reach the Peninsula this Thursday

The cloud of sulfur dioxide that expels the Cumbre Vieja volcano from the island of The Palm It will arrive in the Peninsula in the next few hours. It is expected that during the afternoon of this Thursday part of that cloud will begin to arrive, however the highest concentration will arrive will be on Friday.

Cloud will enter the Region of Murcia on Thursday spreading throughout the Peninsula during Friday and until the middle of Saturday.

This is the prediction he announced this Wednesday Mark Parrington, Senior Researcher at the Atmospheric Monitoring Service Copernicus, via Twitter, where he posted a video of the direction of the sulfur dioxide cloud.

The volcanic eruption in Cumbre Vieja, on La Palma, has emitted between 6,140 and 11,500 tons of sulfur dioxide per day, according to measurements made by the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands.

These results are consistent with the first 72 hours of evolution of this eruptive process with the appearance of a new point of emission of magmatic material in Tacande, in the municipality of El Paso (La Palma).

What happens if we inhale it?

As EL ESPAÑOL published this week, sulfur dioxide can produce from irritation and inflammation of the respiratory system, lung diseases and insufficiencies, the alteration of protein metabolism, headaches and even anxiety, warns the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. WHO recommends a maximum of 20 micrograms per cubic meter in 24 hours.

However, the biggest concern for the pulmonologist It is not the gases such as those derived from sulfur or carbon dioxide but the ashes that are falling on La Palma. They are microscopic particles that have the same effect on health as pollution and that “have a much greater dispersion range than gases.” These are classified according to their size: less than 10 microns (PM10) or less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5).

Face mask

The simplest form of prevention is face mask, although in the case of this cloud that reaches the Peninsula it won’t be necessary since the effects will hardly affect the population.

Its use is more than recommended throughout the island of La Palma, although it should also be extended to to neighboring islands, such as El Hierro, La Gomera or Tenerife, according to account to EL ESPAÑOL Cristina Martinez, coordinator of the environment area of ​​the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ)

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