The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has advised people to stay indoors during the coming few weeks because of the anticipated onset of a heat wave. Forecasters said the Kingdom will experience a hot spell, which could be fatal and cautioned people to take basic protection and prevention measures, such as avoiding going outdoors during the hottest time of the day, which is between 12 noon and 3 P.M., and drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration. A heat wave is a prolonged period of hot weather accompanied by high humidity. It could cause death from hyperthermia and power outages due to the increased use of air-conditioning and cooling systems. “We expect the temperature to reach 48-49 degrees Celsius in the Greater Dammam Area during the heat wave, but it could be less in the Central and Western regions,” a forecaster said. Forecasters also said the public should ignore what is being posted on the Internet stating that the temperature in the Kingdom will hit 62 degrees Celsius in the next few weeks. “The most we experienced this year was last month when the temperature soared one day to 50.3 degrees Celsius,” a forecaster said. “People should not panic; they must take precautions to deal with the heat wave,” he said.
