Cairo: A regional cold snap continued to fall on Egypt on Saturday, with some Cairo suburbs seeing snowfall for the first time in 100 years, a weather official said.
The Middle East has been hit by a fierce winter storm, with temperatures in Egypt plummeting over the past two days as torrential rain also lashed parts of the country. “It is the first time in very many years” that it has snowed in the suburbs of Cairo which started on Friday, said Ali Abdul Azim, an official at the meteorological centre.
Braving the worst cold snap he could remember in his 27 years of life, Hussain Abdul Basset huddled behind a gas stove on his metal cart under a Cairo bridge, practising his trade as a street vendor of fried liver. “I can’t stay at home despite this difficult weather,” said Abdul Basset as he served very few customers.
“I have a wife and a child to feed. I’ve taken my precautions to ensure that I won’t catch cold or get stuck in muddy streets,” added Hussain, who put on an ice cap, a frayed overcoat and boots.
Egypt has been hit by a winter storm, causing heavy rains and disrupting traffic on the nation’s roads. The temperatures dipped to their low-time levels since 1979 on Friday, forcing the closure of the bulk of Egypt’s harbours and businesses.
Cairo airport authorities reported that at least 10 per cent of passengers had cancelled their bookings on Friday’s flights. Areas on Cairo’s outskirts, meanwhile, experienced a rare snowfall. Local media showed footage of residents in the suburban towns of Rehab and Madynati playing with snow balls and taking pictures.
The torrential rains, however, took their brunt on working-class and rural areas in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country of around 85 million. With a shortage of functioning gutters, the bulk of roads have turned into puddles.
State media Saturday said that municipalities were put on alert to handle the situation and siphon rain water off the streets. “These are mere words,” said Hamuda Metwali, an owner of a grocery shop in northern Cairo.
“As you can see, no-one has appeared to remove this [rain] water, which has started to be mixed with garbage.” Metwali, 53, said he had closed his store on Friday. “But when I saw the weather began to improve today [Saturday], I decided to re-open. Our conditions could not bear more disruption,” he said.
Egypt’s economy has been in the doldrums since early 2011 when a popular revolt forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak out of power. The one-year-rule of his successor Mohammad Mursi was marred by street turmoil and frequent wrangling with his secular opponents. Mursi was deposed by the military in July.
In the Sinai Peninsula, the storm deposited a blanket of snow several centimetres thick in the mountainous area around Saint Catherine’s monastery for the first time in decades. Mokhtar Hussain, who lives in the area, said he had not left his house since Thursday because of the weather. “We aren’t leaving the house at all because the whole town is covered in snow,” he said.
On the Mediterranean coast, gardens, streets and houses in the town of Ras Al Bar were covered by a layer of white after heavy snow, resident Rania Al Mubashir said. The northern coastal city of Alexandria only received light snowfall, but authorities shut the port for the third consecutive day because of the bad weather and strong winds.
