[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Sandstorm continues to engulf Jeddah" ids="136643,136651,136647,136641"]
By Irfan Mohammed
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Strong winds kicked up dust, reducing visibility in Makkah region for the second successive day on Wednesday bringing life to a standstill in most parts of Jeddah and other parts of the region.
The sandstorm increased in intensity, accompanied by high humidity level, since morning in the city, reducing the horizontal visibility to low level, in line with the PME prediction. Streets in almost all parts of the city were deserted as the sandstorm continued to engulf the city. The severity of winds in certain areas uprooted plants and trees.
Many shops and other retail business firms shut doors from Duhur prayer. Schools and educational institutions were also closed in the region as authorities had declared Wednesday as holiday due to persisting adverse weather conditions.
The temperature recorded was 40 Celsius in Jeddah and 43 Celsius in Makkah with increased humidity impacting normal life. Most of employees wore masks and some of them left work early in afternoon.
Col. Saeed Sarhan, spokesperson of Civil Defense in Makkah region, said that no causalities were reported and urged people to exercise caution.
