JEDDAH —Makkah recorded the highest number of 181 days that witnessed temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius during the period from 1985-2022. Makkah was followed by Al-Ahsa with 167 days, Al-Qaysumah with 59 days, and Dammam with 54 days, according to a report of the National Center of Meteorology Al-Qaisumah topped among the Saudi cities in terms of the number of days of frequency of dust storms, while Abha came at the top of the list of cities most exposed to thunderstorms, during the period from 1985 to 2022. The NCM's climatic statistics, which were based on data from its monitoring stations, indicated that Qaisumah was exposed to 119 days of dust storms during this period, followed by Al-Ahsa with 110 days, then Rafha with 99 days, while Al-Qassim ranked fourth with 69 days, and Jazan came 5th with 66 days. At the level of thunderstorms, Abha witnessed 788 days of thunderstorms during this period, followed by Taif with 784 days, Al-Baha with 746 days, Khamis Mushait with 528 days, and Bisha with 296 days. Khamis Mushait came at the top of the list of cities most exposed to rainy days with 363 days, then Al-Baha with 320 days, Taif with 295 days, Abha with 252 days, and Bisha with 201 days. Al-Wajh ranked first in terms of the number of days of fog recurrence with 28 days, followed by Yanbu with 22 days, Jeddah with 11 days, Abha with 6 days, and Al-Baha with 4 days. The center pointed out that Dhahran recorded the highest temperature for the month of May on the 29th of the month in 2009 with 51 degrees Celsius, while Rafha recorded the lowest temperature in the same month with 21 degrees, on the date of May 27, 2000. Bisha recorded the highest amount of rain, with 96 mm, on May 1, 2013, while the highest amount of precipitation during that month was in Khamis Mushait with 159 mm in May 2019. During this period, Al-Jouf recorded a maximum speed wind with 115 km/h, while the highest frequency of dust storms was in May in Qaisumah with 119 times, the report pointed out.
