Saudi: Makkah records 181 days of extreme heat in 37 years

Riyadh: Makkah, one of the cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the holiest city in Islam, recorded the highest number of 181 days that witnessed temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius between 1985 and 2022.

After Makkah, Al-Ahsa saw 167 days, Al-Qaisumah 59, and Dammam 54 days, according to a report issued by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) in Saudi Arabia.

In terms of dust storms, Al-Qaisumah recorded the highest number of incidents during the same period with 119 days, followed by Al-Ahsa with 110 days and Rafha with 99 days.

In terms of thunderstorms, Abha saw 788 days of thunderstorms during this period, followed by Taif with 784 days, Al-Baha with 746 days, Khamis Mushait with 528 days and Bisha with 296 days.

Khamis Mushait topped the list of cities most exposed to rain for 363 days, followed by Al-Baha with 320 days, Taif with 295 days, Abha with 252 days, and Bisha with 201 days.

Al-Wajh came first in terms of the number of days of fog recurrence, with 28 days, followed by Yanbu with 22 days, Jeddah with 11 days, Abha with 6 days, and Al-Baha with 4 days.

The report also highlighted that Dhahran recorded its highest temperature at 51 degrees Celsius in May 2009, while the city of Rafha recorded its lowest temperature at 21 degrees Celsius in 2000.

Bisha recorded the highest amount of rainfall with 96 mm on May 1, 2013, and the highest amount of precipitation was in Khamis Mushait with 159 mm in May 2019.

The report indicated that the Al-Jawf region recorded during this period a maximum wind speed of 115 km/h, while the highest frequency of dust storms was recorded in May in Al-Qaisumah 119 times.