Kuwait: May is the dustiest month in 25 years
Kuwaiti Meteorological Department said that May has become among the highest months of the year that witnessed dust storms at 30 days in 25 years, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.
The month of May also ranked third in the number of suspended dust cases, reaching 167 days during the same period
The climate observer in the administration, Hassan Al-Dashti, told KUNA, that “the month of June was the leader during the past half-century, which means that there has been a change in the pattern and behavior of climatic phenomena in recent years, with May leading the dusty cases instead of June, which is the hottest.”
Due to the desert climate of Kuwait, dust storms abound at the end of spring and during summer, Dashti adds.
He stated that Kuwait witnessed, as of May 16, the start of a sandstorm from the west and northwest of the country, accompanied by 35 km/h and 50 km/h winds, which reduced horizontal visibility to less than 300 meters, suspended air, maritime navigation and affected patients of allergy and asthma.
He also pointed out that what helped raise the dust was the lack of rain in Kuwait, as last winter had the lowest rainfall among the 19 seasons during the last quarter-century, recording only 87.7 millimetres, while the general average for the season is 113 millimetres.
It is noteworthy that, in the middle of this week, large parts of the Arabian Peninsula are expected to be affected by the regional dust wave that will extend to 9 countries, including at least 5 Gulf countries.
The wave will extend to: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, in addition to Jordan, Syria and Iraq, and may deepen further to affect the Sultanate of Oman.
On Monday, May 23, Kuwaiti meteorologists announced that the country will be exposed to a severe dust storm during the coming hours, and its intensity will continue until midnight.
Kuwait is currently affected by a decrease in horizontal visibility, due to a wave of dust reaching less than 1000 meters in some areas accompanied by strong winds with speeds of more than 50 kilometres per hour.
The public fire brigade called for caution due to the unstable weather conditions in the country, according to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation announced on, Monday that air traffic at Kuwait International Airport was temporarily suspended at 2:20 pm local time in the state of Kuwait due to the dusty situation in the country.
