TABUK: The snow that fell on Al-Lawz Mountain on Thursday brought out young people who love to ski, and who turned sand-skiing into ice-skiing.
Visitors were interested in the young people skiing on snow and wanted to try it themselves.
Roads leading to the snow-covered areas were crowded with hikers enjoying the beautiful white mountains and the cold, fresh weather.
The two centers of Alkan and Al-Lawz experienced rainfall accompanied by snow, which attracted large numbers of families from Tabuk city and neighboring districts — and from outside of the area — to see this annual visitor that covers the mountains, valleys and hills of the north of Tabuk each year.
Government sectors concerned with traffic, security and roads, along with the Red Crescent, Civil Defense and the Border Guards, are monitoring the situation and are ready to manage any possible emergency.
The local population gathers every year to watch this phenomenon. They arrive at the mountain early to welcome the snow and consider this time to be the most beautiful of the year.
Last week, Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, told the Saudi Press Agency that a cold-air front would push toward the northern areas and would continue until the middle of next week.
The front is expected to cause snowfall, particularly in the Northern Borders and Jawf regions, accompanied by low temperatures, dropping to -2°C.
Snowy Davos closes as skiing season opens in Saudi Arabia
Snowy Davos closes as skiing season opens in Saudi Arabia
Pioneering electric bus service takes to the road in Makkah
- The bus rapid transit project, a system designed to have higher capacity and reliability than conventional bus services, is said to be the first of its kind in the Kingdom
- The vehicles operate in dedicated bus lanes within a network that includes two main bus stations and 11 stops along the route connecting them
MAKKAH: A pioneering electric bus service took to the road in Makkah this week.
Electromin, the developer and operator of the service in partnership with Umm Al-Qura for Development and Construction, said it is expected to serve more than 125 million passengers over the next 15 years, while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by more than 31,500 tonnes compared with traditional vehicles.
The bus rapid transit project, a system designed to have higher capacity and reliability than conventional bus services, is said to be one of the first of its kind in the Kingdom. It was inaugurated on Wednesday by Amr Al-Dabbagh, chairperson of Al-Dabbagh Group; Samir Nawar, managing director of Petromin; and Yasser Abu Ateeq, CEO of Umm Al-Qura.
Electromin, a subsidiary of Petromin specializing in energy and mobility solutions, said the new service, which forms part of the Masar Destination mixed-use real estate development project in Makkah, is one the first transport networks of its kind in the country, and represents a significant shift toward a cleaner, more efficient urban transport model.
It operates in dedicated bus lanes, connecting key hubs within Masar and providing safe, reliable and environmentally friendly transportation for residents and visitors, the company added. The network includes two main bus stations and 11 stops along the route connecting them. It has been designed to serve more than 5 million visitors and pilgrims annually, and to be easily accessible to all users.
Operators say the service is designed as a foundation for Makkah’s future transportation system, through its integration with the broader Masar project, which includes pedestrian walkways, more than 5,000 parking spaces, metro services and other urban infrastructure.
