RIYADH: The scorching heat is expected to ease after a long spell of excessive hot weather during the peak summer season in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom’s National Center for Meteorology has announced that Sept. 1 signaled the official start of autumn.
The season is usually rainy, with rapid fluctuations in weather patterns, providing much-needed respite from the heat, according to the center.
However, it added that temperatures were anticipated to remain elevated until the middle of the month, with significant fluctuations expected in temperature.
The center said: “The NCM will soon release a detailed report on the key characteristics of this year’s autumn season.”
Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesperson for the NCM, said that Sept. 1 marked the end of the summer season and added that autumn was expected to bring a mix of rainy and variable weather conditions.
The seasonal change will be a big relief to residents as temperatures hit 50 C multiple times during the summer amid searing heat.
However, the center added that people may not feel the temperature drop until the middle of the month, but that conditions will become more bearable as the mercury level reduces by a few degrees.
Mohammed Alharbi, a Riyadh resident, said: “The extreme and sometimes record-breaking temperatures we have seen over the past several months are a clear indicator that climate change is making these hot spells worse.
“However, the cooler, fresher air with the arrival of autumn will give us all a big sigh of relief from the searing heat and could also set off some strong thunderstorms and moderate to heavy rain in the Kingdom, heralding the onset of winter.”
October tends to be the month when a noticeable drop in temperatures is felt, compared to the summer peak.
When it starts raining across the Kingdom in October, the mercury level nosedives from above 40 C to around 30 C.
The maximum temperature in the capital on Monday settled at 41 C. AccuWeather has predicted a maximum of 41 to 42 C throughout the week compared to 44 C last week.
