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Kuwait: The Media Department at the Ministry of Interior has called on citizens to be cautious during the dusty weather witnessed by the country. In a statement, the department asked citizens and expatriates to take whatever measures necessary to protect their families including asking drivers to stick to speed limits and to always fasten seat belts.

The department also appealed to people to call 112 if they need help.

Meteorologist at the Meteorology Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Essa Ramadan, said that the dust wave is expected to continue until next Thursday; however it will be less severe than it was on Monday. He added that that temperature will go down to 40 degrees over the next two days and will gradually go back up as of Thursday, only to get better during the weekend.

Regarding the instable weather witnessed by the country, Ramadan said that it is due to a strong sand storm which brought horizontal visibility to zero in some desert areas while north-west wind speeds reached 70 kilometers per hour. He added that sand and dust storms have become almost permanent and constant around the year in the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq due to drought and lack of seasonal rain as well as lack of plants. This has resulted in disintegration of the soil which indicates a significant climate change in Arab region, he said.

For his part, Head of the Weather Department at Al-Marzam Observatory, Khalid Al-Jamaan, said that the dust wave witnessed by the country on Monday blocked around 50 percent of sunlight, attributing this to the change of wind direction from south-east to south-west. He added that May witnessed 13 days of dusty weather and it is expected that dust storm will continue until the end of the month. He said that dust decrease temperatures by more than 5 degrees.

Meanwhile the Operations Management Department at the DGCA said on Monday that the air traffic at Kuwait International Airport (KIA) is now running smoothly despite the wave of dust that swept the country.

The head of the department, Essam Al-Zamil, told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the visibility at the airport in Kuwait during the day was estimated to be at 400 meters, noting that it was estimated at 100 meters in the morning at 7:30 a.m.. He added that landings on Monday morning proceeded normally, but the departure of two flights belonging to the Kuwait Airways Corporation was delayed. He noted that the first flight was heading toward Bahrain at 7:50 a.m. Monday morning and took off behind schedule at 9:20 a.m., while the other was heading toward Damascus at 8:10 a.m. but it took off at 9:10 a.m.

Later, an official from the Kuwait Ports Authority said on Monday that maritime traffic was ceased in Kuwait as a result of severe weather conditions.
In a press release, Director of Marine Operations at the Shuwaikh Suliman Al-Yahya Port said that sea traffic had stopped due to the low visibility of less than half a kilometer, so as to ensure the safety of ships coming in and out of the port. He added that all emergency vehicles of the authority were put on high alert to ensure readiness for any emergency.

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