The Azores Situation Report Wednesday 28th June 2023
SATA Air Açores plane struck by lightning.
The Azorean airline revealed this Friday that a SATA Air Açores plane was struck by lightning, which is why the company will have to reorganize the operation.
“As a result of lightning hitting a SATA Air Açores plane, for technical reasons the said aircraft will have to be inspected, so we inform you that today SATA Air Açores will have to reorganize the operation”, reveals the company in informative note.
It also adds that, given these circumstances, it is making every effort to re-accommodate passengers on alternative connections, as soon as possible and in accordance with the availability of seats that present themselves at any given time.
Effects of Canadian fires affect Azores since Sunday
The cloud of smoke particles from the fires in Canada has been affecting the Azores islands since Sunday and should extend to the mainland in the next few hours, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).
In a statement, the IPMA says that the concentrations of these pollutants are below established legal limits and, therefore, should not represent any threat to human health.
According to the institute, this cloud is “made up of very small particles and gases (especially carbon monoxide) resulting from the fires that have affected the territory of Canada over the last few weeks”.
“According to simulations of the prediction model of the CAMS service (Copernicus program), this cloud appears to be confined above 1,100 meters in altitude and therefore should not affect populations below this level”, he indicates.
However, the Institute points out that this cloud should cause a reduction in the visibility and brightness of the Sun, as well as the blue tone of the sky.
The IPMA recalls that the forest fires that have been plaguing Canada for weeks have emitted significant amounts of gases and particles into the atmosphere that are transported and dispersed by the winds.
“A cyclonic circulation, associated with a depression centered northwest of the Azores, will have promoted the large-scale transport of these pollutants, mainly carbon monoxide, along the North Atlantic, having reached the Azores region last Tuesday, 13th of June”, says the Institute.