Muscat: Following the rains that lashed the northern parts of the Sultanate three days ago, the country recorded a steep drop in temperatures.
A rare phenomenon in Oman, a thick blanket of snow covered the Jabal Shams mountains due to the drop in temperatures.
Jabal Shams, which is part of the Al Hajar Mountain range, is situated at an altitude of 3,004 metres above the sea level, the highest peak in the Gulf. It recorded a temperature of -6C yesterday, according to the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation.
Similarly, Jabal Surat, located in the governorate of Ibri, near Jabal Shams, recorded a temperature of -2C.
The official at the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation, told Gulf News that the drop in the temperatures in the northern parts of the Sultanate would continue for the next few days.
When asked about the snowfall, the official said that the temperature in Jabal Shams, Jabal Surat and Jabal Al Akhdar, is expected to go down further in the next few days.
Meanwhile, tourists had a field day as they flocked to Jabal Shams to enjoy the snowfall as well as the serene beauty of the region.
Antonio and his wife Natalie, from Brazil, told Gulf News that for two days they had a whale of a time watching this natural phenomenon in Jabal Shams.
“The icing on the cake was that we celebrated Valentine’s Day along with our friends at the Jabal Shams top for the first time. It has been etched in our memories,” said Natalie.
Oman is witnessing an influx of tourists as more than 10,000 people have visited the country during the past three months, an official at the Ministry of Tourism told Gulf News.
The official added that tourists from Britain topped the chart, followed by Italians, Germans, French and Japanese.
The country has been pumping hundreds of millions of Rials in building major tourist infrastructure projects to tap into tourism potential. Oman is planning to attract over 12 million tourists by 2020.
