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Join Date: 27 Oct 2010
Location:  QatarPosts: 404 |
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Cold winter, heavy rain ahead in Kuwait, says meteorologist |
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Veteran Kuwaiti meteorologist Saleh Al-Ujairi predicted on Monday that the coming winter would be "very cold," also forecasting heavy rainfall within the next few days.
Al-Ujairi explained that the recent heavy sandstorms have been caused by freezing northern winds of up to 30 kilometers per hour hitting open desert areas and blowing the fine, dusty sand from there across the country. Another local meteorologist, Khalid Al-Jamaan, said, however, that the heavy sandstorms are among the primary reasons why the upcoming rainy season would see limited rainfall, contrary to the heavy rain previously been predicted. Shipping operations were temporarily suspended at Shuwaikh, Shuaiba and Doha Ports on Monday due to low visibility caused by the sandstorms, with Shuwaikh Port's docking supervisor, Captain Musa Behbehani, explaining that two ships there had to wait a number of hours before being allowed to depart in compliance with shipping safety regulations. The sandstorms, exacerbated by wind speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour, saw visibility at the ports falling to 500 meters. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's Meteorology Department said in a statement issued yesterday that it expects the recent dusty weather to subside gradually, with improved visibility returning by last night. In a statement issued yesterday, it said that the current dusty weather is caused by a cold front from southern Europe crossing the Arabian peninsula, picking up fine particles of sand as it goes, which has led to poor visibility across Kuwait. Visibility at Kuwait International Airport (KIA) reached a low of 300 meters at one point, accompanied by a steep drop in temperatures, but this situation is expected to improve shortly, the DGCA added. The current cold front is expected to affect Kuwait for two more days, bringing low daytime temperatures, reaching a maximum of 21 degrees Celsius, and chilly nights, with the temperature in desert areas expected to fall as low as three degrees. Wind speeds of between 10 and 30 kilometers per hour are expected to emphasize the colder-than-usual temperatures. The director of KIA's Operations Department, Essam Al-Zamel, said that despite the low visibility level recorded at the airport in recent days, it had now improved, reaching 1,000 meters. Al-Zamel said the current inclement weather had not affected operations at the airport, with all takeoffs and landings taking place as scheduled. There had been no need to change flight routes because of the visibility problems, he said, and no flights had been cancelled. |
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