--- title: "Orange Dust Blankets Spanish Ski Resort" description: "A massive storm has carried Sahara desert dust all the way from Africa to the Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada, Spain — and the videos look like they were taken on Mars." date: "2022-03-17" modified: "2022-03-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/orange-dust-blankets-spanish-ski-resort" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "sahara desert" - "the digest" --- # Orange Dust Blankets Spanish Ski Resort ![A massive storm has carried Sahara desert dust all the way from Africa to the Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada, Spain — and the videos look like they were taken on Mars.]() *\Image: IDEAL/Futurism\* ## Dust Ski A massive storm has carried Sahara desert dust all the way from Africa to the Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada, Spain — and [the videos]() look like they were taken on Mars. The videos, widely circulated on social media, show a thick layer of orange dust blanketing the resort's snow-covered slopes, while an ominous orange glow emanates from the sky above. Skiers can be seen, revealing pristine white snow beneath the dust while going down the slope. In other words, it's the kind of conditions you'd expect to find on the Martian surface — not sunny southern Spain. In fact, when [asked]() if this is what it would look like "if Mars had ski slopes," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [replied]() with a tongue-in-cheek "yeah." https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1504404642951839750 ## Shut Down The situation got bad enough to force operators of the resort to shut down several ski lifts earlier this week, according to [local news](). Storm Celia has caused havoc across much of central Europe, leading to dramatic skies and terrible air quality. Meteorologists in Spain warned of "[extremely unfavorable]()" conditions. ## Mars Resort It's still unclear if climate change was directly responsible for the massive dust storm, but previous research has linked climate change to [increasingly turbulent weather patterns]() and even the [expansion of the Sahara desert](). "There are many concerns regarding the impact that climate change is having on the patterns of the frequency and intensity of the storms that favor the arrival of dust to our country," Rubén del Campo, a spokesman for Spain’s weather service, [told the *Toronto Star*](). Is this what a holiday on Mars will eventually look like? It'll certainly take some time — and plenty of geoengineering — to ever find out if it's even a possibility. **More on storms:** *[Hurricane-Like Storms That Raged in the Midwest Caused by Climate Change, FEMA Says]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()