sirocco

A warm southeast wind, originating in the Sahara Desert, associated with the low-pressure systems that travel through the southern Mediterranean and North Africa. The air initially displaced by the sirocco, besides being warm, is dry and dusty, although on its maritime path over Mediterranean waters it gradually loads up with moisture, becoming a very humid wind in Sicily, Malta, and the south of the Italian peninsula. It has its etymological origin in the Latin word syriacus, which was the name ancient Romans gave to the southeast wind, coming, for them, from Syria. The proximity of the southeast Iberian Peninsula to the Sahara means that the sirocco arrives there as a warm, dry, dusty wind, which greatly clouds the air, giving rise to haze and notably reducing visibility.