RIYADH: The forecast for this year’s Hajj season predicts very hot weather, with temperatures expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius in the Masha’er area, experts said on Tuesday.
Ayman Ghulam, CEO of the National Center of Meteorology, also warned of “active speed” winds that could cause sand and dust storms. He could not rule out the chance of rain at the holy sites in Makkah, which include Mount Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina, especially in the afternoons due to cloud formations in the eastern heights of the Masha’er area.
Ghulam inspected the center’s work at the holy sites and the newly launched Hajj operating room. He said the meteorology center is ready to monitor and follow up on the latest weather conditions and phenomena at all the holy sites, and coordinate around the clock with all relevant authorities and organizations.
He added that the head of the Meteorological Operations Center in Mina will also provide weather information broadcasts, daily bulletins, and emergency plans in case of severe weather conditions.
Hajj season begins on July 18. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, only 60,000 people from within the Kingdom will perform Hajj this year.
Very hot weather and possibly rain forecast for Hajj season in Saudi Arabia
https://arab.news/998hb
Very hot weather and possibly rain forecast for Hajj season in Saudi Arabia
- Temperatures are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius, according to National Center of Meteorology
Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA
- KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football
RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.
KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.
The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.
The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.
This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.
The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.
These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.
