Saudi Arabia: Mecca records 181 days of extreme heat over 37 years

Dubai: Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, experienced the highest number of days with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius between 1985 and 2022, with a total of 181 days. Following Mecca, Al Ahsa had 167 such days, Al Qaysumah 59, and Dammam 54, according to a report by the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).

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

For thunderstorms, Abha had the highest number of days with 788, followed by Taif with 784 and Al Baha with 746. Khamis Mushait had the rainiest days with 363, followed by Al Baha with 320 and Taif with 295.

Regarding fog recurrence, Al Wajh had the most with 28 days, followed by Yanbu with 22 and Jeddah with 11. The report also highlighted that Dhahran recorded the highest temperature in May, reaching 51 degrees Celsius in 2009, while Rafha recorded the lowest at 21 degrees Celsius in 2000.

Bisha recorded the highest amount of rainfall in May with 96 mm in 2013, and the highest amount of precipitation was in Khamis Mushait with 159 mm in May 2019. The highest frequency of dust storms occurred in May in Al Qaisumah with 119 times, while Al Jouf recorded the maximum wind speed of 115 km/h. The statistics were based on data from the NCM’s monitoring stations.