The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) announced that the average rainfall in various regions of Saudi Arabia hit an exceptional record of 31.81 mm in April 2023. According to MEWA, this is the highest average recorded in 40 years; it is higher than the average of 9.23 mm which it recorded in April 2022. MEWA issued a hydrology report for April 2023 to measure rainfall and floodwaters collected in and drawn from the dams. The report showed that there were 26 rainy days during this month, covering most regions of the Kingdom. The highest level of rainfall was recorded on April 25, with 137 measurements and the highest rainfall measurement recorded amounted to 79 mm on April 14 in Asir region. MEWA's agency and the National Center of Meteorology had 353 rainfall stations with 2,163 measurements recorded. The report also showed that the floodwaters collected in 146 existing dams in the Kingdom's regions during April 2023 amounted to 118 million cubic meters, while during April 2022, there were 12.2 million cubic meters. According to the report, the dams in the Asir region had the largest share of collected floodwater, more than 28.50 million cubic meters. The floodwater water collected in Najran Dam, Najran, amounted to 20.59 million cubic meters, followed by 14 million cubic meters in Baysh Dam, Jazan. Approximately 57.7 million cubic meters were drawn from all dams during April, to help replenish farmers' wells and preserve the vegetation cover. The highest amount was from Najran Dam, with 20.44 million cubic meters, followed by Baysh Dam, with 4 million cubic meters. Starting this May, MEWA is working on implementing the dams' operational plan by opening the gates for irrigation purposes, while maintaining the safe limit of water allocated for drinking. — SPA
