The Canary Islands are known to have one of the best climates in the world – rarely too hot or too cold, with sunshine generally and a distinct lack of rain.

But why is it so good?

We’re in the right latitude

Beach

We’re in the latitude between the Med and the really hot tropics, which keeps summers bearable and winters warm. We share our latitude with Florida and Egypt.

The Trade Winds take the edge of the heat

Pool

We’re smack in the trade wind zone, which means we generally have a breeze blowing from the north. It means that despite our proximity to The Sahara, we don’t often see temperatures in the 40’s here, apart from the odd few days when the trades do die off.

Cloud tends to go around the island

Famara

Cloud heading towards us from the north tends to be diverted around the island by the cliffs at Famara, and the cloud that isn’t diverted is usually burned off by the heat of the island as soon as it reaches land. If you look at satellite images, or even look far out to sea, you’ll see cloud all around, but none over Lanzarote.

The Sahara protects us

Prom

The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert, and it’s just 70 Nautical miles from Lanzarote. The huge, barren area produces a warm layer of air over the land mass of Africa that stops storms and “weather” in its tracks. That’s why we don’t suffer from Tropical Storms here regularly.

 

The Canary Current

Monumento

The waters of The Atlantic flow towards Lanzarote from the north of Europe, and are known as a “cold current.” That’s why the ocean temperatures here are a steady 20 to 24 degrees for most of the year, and this surrounding cool water helps keep air temperatures at a sensible level.

So there you have it – that’s why we have the best weather in the world here, and why The Romans named us “The Fortunate Islands!”