Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Even though the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) this week repudiated reports that temperatures in the Kingdom will not soar to 70 degrees Celsius, the weather agency Friday did not provide the public with anything to cheer about. The weather, the PME said, will get hotter during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, tentatively slated to start July 20. Dr. Murad Hashem, a senior official at PME, said studies show that the temperature during Ramadan will be higher than the average rate during this time of the year. During the beginning of the month, the temperature is likely to reach 52° C in the shade for two hours from 12 noon to 2 P.M. in some parts of Makkah, Madinah and the Eastern Province, he said. However, he said as the month proceeds, the temperature would go down by at least seven degrees in Makkah, and Madinah and five degrees in the Eastern Province. Abdulrahman Mushtaq, Director General of the Regional Center for Monitoring Drought and Early Alarm System, said the temperature usually measured at the PME is the temperature of the air in the shade at a height of two meters from the surface of the earth. He said as the air gets warmer, the temperature near the surface of the earth goes up.
