Saudi Arabia: Strong easterly winds are blowing across these areas; please be aware of the dust and sandstorms.

Arab Weather App - It is expected that the east wind will blow strongly over the highlands and coasts of the western Kingdom in the coming days, especially at the end of this week and the beginning of next week. The winds will be active to strong in speed, accompanied by gusts exceeding 70 km/h, especially on the mountain slopes in the Makkah and Madinah regions. It is expected that they will stir up dust and sand to varying degrees from one area to another, which will reduce the horizontal visibility, especially on external roads.

Recommendations to be careful of dust for respiratory patients

These conditions require patients with respiratory and eye conditions to follow the necessary preventive measures to deal with such weather conditions in order to avoid complications, God forbid. It also requires drivers to be cautious and attentive while driving due to the expected decrease in horizontal visibility.

What are the east winds and how are they produced?

The Saba winds are caused by the dominance of a cold surface air mass over the eastern Hijaz Mountains and central and northern Saudi Arabia, coinciding with the dominance of a surface high-pressure system over those areas. The cold air is pushed westward towards the Hijaz Mountains due to its high density. The Hijaz Mountains act as a barrier preventing the cold air from moving towards the Red Sea. The air finds no way except to pass through the passages between the mountains, so its speed increases and it pushes strongly towards the coastal areas, which stirs up dust.

And God knows best.