Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), said that Saudi Arabia will witness a cold winter, but it will not be as cold as the winter season in previous years.

Attending the "120 Program" on Al-Ekhbariya channel, Al-Qahtani said that the winter season is expected to witness low temperatures, but they will not reach the rates recorded in previous years.

He stated that the NCM will later issue its climate report on winter, which will explain the climatic and meteorological features of the season.

The NCM, represented by the Regional Climate Change Center, dispelled misconceptions about winter forecasts. In a statement issued last month, the center clarified that reports predicting a harsh and prolonged winter linked to the La Niña phenomenon are inaccurate and do not reflect expectations for the upcoming winter.

The center stated that forecasts indicate a winter season around the normal average, with a slight increase of up to one degree Celsius in some areas. It urged the public to verify climate-related information from official sources and ignore individual opinions that could create confusion.