Saudi Arabia is experiencing a wave of severe weather over the past few days, affecting the southwestern highlands with a strong storm that has resulted in varying amounts of rainfall. Mecca has witnessed thunderstorms and heavy rain, while Egypt is experiencing moderate weather in most governorates, although South Sinai has seen thunderstorms and rainfall leading to floods, according to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority.
The city and mountains of Saint Catherine have experienced rare, heavy floods heading towards the village of Al-Turfa and Wiran. Dr. Samir Tantawi, a climate change consultant at the United Nations and a member of the International Climate Change Panel, stated that many countries around the world are experiencing extreme weather and climate conditions primarily due to climate change, caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which reached 424 parts per million according to NASA measurements, and have reached 450 parts per million, leading to a 2-degree temperature rise. This is the basis for the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to prevent reaching this threshold, as reported by "Russia Today."
Dr. Abdullah Al-Misnad, a climate professor in the Geography Department at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia, revealed the reasons behind the violent weather phenomena in Mecca. He wrote on his account on the "X" platform that such severe weather events occur by God's will when natural and human factors converge.
He explained that the natural reasons include the "simultaneous rise in temperature along with other surface and upper atmospheric factors, which leads to:
- High surface heating.
- Strong lifting of vertical winds (updrafts).
- Formation of massive cumulonimbus clouds like mountains in the presence of atmospheric moisture and cold air masses above.
- Downward winds from the tops of the cumulonimbus clouds after cooling, which can reach speeds of over 100 km/h due to the descending air.
- The presence of tall mountains that narrow the wind's flow, causing accumulation through narrow passages, making it violent."
He pointed out that the human reasons are "the presence of tall towers that block the natural passage of descending winds in a wide spatial area, where these towers play a riskier role than mountains in deflecting winds, forcing them to pass through narrow passages, making the winds strong and violent." He highlighted that “modern technologies for monitoring such violent weather phenomena are available to warn about them at least 30 minutes before they occur, with warnings disseminated through various means, including loud alarms on mobile phones, especially around Mecca and densely populated cities.”
