The National Center for Meteorology in Saudi Arabia issued weather warning of weather fluctuations that will directly affect large parts of the Riyadh and Eastern regions. These warnings coincide with the mid-year school break , urging citizens and residents, especially those traveling on highways, to take precautions.
Weather details and affected areas
The center explained in its report that the weather conditions consist of active surface winds stirring up dust and sand, leading to near-zero or very low horizontal visibility, ranging between 3 and 5 kilometers. The report indicated that these conditions will continue to affect the area until Tuesday evening.
The alerts covered a wide range of cities and governorates, including, in the Riyadh region: Riyadh city, Diriyah, Dawadmi, Ar-Rin, Al-Quway'iyah, Afif, Az-Zulfi, Al-Ghat, Al-Majma'ah, Shaqra, Thadiq, Huraymila, Rumah, and Dhurma. In the Eastern Province, the alerts included: Al-Khafji, An-Nu'ayriyah, Qaryat Al-Ulya, and Hafr Al-Batin.
The weather coincided with the mid-year break
These warnings are doubly important given their timing with the mid-year school break . Many students and families take advantage of this period, which began on Friday, the 20th of Rajab, and ends on the 28th of the same month, to go on picnics or travel between cities to visit relatives. The highways connecting Riyadh and the Eastern Province are among the busiest roads during this time, making driving in the dust storms require the utmost caution.
Tips and guidelines for dealing with dust
In these dusty conditions, health and safety experts advise following a set of preventative guidelines, the most important of which are:
- For respiratory patients: It is necessary to stay indoors as much as possible, and to use medical masks when going out to avoid irritation of the airways and asthma.
- For drivers: Leave a safe distance between cars, use warning lights when visibility is low, and avoid high speeds, especially in open areas where wind speeds are high.
General climatic context
These weather fluctuations are part of the Kingdom's climatic characteristics during the transitional periods between seasons, when surface winds become active and stir up dust due to the desert nature and geography of the region. These weather patterns typically affect the central and eastern regions significantly.
In a related context, the weather report did not neglect to mention the rest of the regions of the Kingdom, where there is still a chance of light rain on parts of the western highlands, with the possibility of fog forming on parts of the Al-Baha, Asir and Jazan regions, which promises different winter weather in those regions compared to the central and eastern parts of the Kingdom.
