Without modern technology, how did our ancestors predict the weather?

Written By ندى ماهر عبدربه on 2024/09/15

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

Arab Weather - There are many traditions and myths associated with weather forecasting in the Arab world, as the ancients relied on their observations of nature and animals, in addition to some myths that were considered signs of changing weather conditions.

Here are some examples from this article.

Traditions and myths associated with weather forecasting in the Arab world

Weather

In ancient Arabia, the Arabs relied on what was called “Anwa” to determine the seasons and predict the weather. Anwa are the names of a group of stars and constellations associated with specific periods of the year. They believed that the appearance or disappearance of these stars had an effect on the weather. For example, they associated the appearance of “Suhail” with a change in the weather towards coldness and the beginning of autumn.

Animal behavior

Some Arabs predicted changes in the weather by observing the behavior of animals. For example, they believed that increased activity of ants or the appearance of many scorpions indicated the approach of rain, and birds flying in certain formations or migrating to certain areas were considered signs of the coming of winter.

The Legend of "Nights"

In some areas, there is an old legend known as the "Nights", a period of harsh winter that begins at the end of December and lasts about 40 days. This period was believed to be the coldest of the year, and people would prepare for it by wearing heavy clothing and storing provisions.

The ancient Egyptians did not have applications or programs to predict the daily or seasonal weather conditions, which prompted them to invent a special calendar that they called the "Winter Forty". They divided the days that witnessed a significant drop in temperatures into 40 nights, starting from December 25 and continuing until February 20. They divided these nights into 20 white nights and 20 black nights. The white nights are characterized by waves of frost and cold, and there are fewer clouds, with rain falling and storms occurring, and fog and dew increasing, and the cold is severe during most hours of the day and night.

The smell of the earth

The smell of the earth after a severe drought, sometimes known as the "smell of rain" or "petrichor," was considered by many cultures, including some Bedouin societies, to be a natural sign that rain was coming. When the ground gave off this distinctive smell after a long period of drought, people believed it was the result of organic matter in the soil reacting with moisture, indicating that rain was coming.

Recent studies have shown that this smell actually results from the release of plant oil compounds that interact with bacteria in the soil when the first raindrops begin to fall.

These traditions are based on natural observation rather than science, but they were part of the daily life and interaction with nature of the ancient Arabs.