Learn about the scientific reasons behind the rain shortage in the Arabian Peninsula

Arab weather - m. Nasser Haddad - Many regions of the Arabian Peninsula experienced a state of rain shortage or a decrease in the number of rainy cases during the winter season, and this led to the disintegration of the soil and an increase in the number and intensity of dust waves.

According to the records available with Arab Weather, the most areas that suffered from a lack of rain during the past winter are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, specifically the southern region and large areas of the west except for the coasts of the Red Sea, and various parts of the central region, including the capital, Riyadh, in addition to the parts Eastern regions of Iraq and Baghdad, while amounts of rain equal to the usual rates fell in parts of Al-Jawf, the northern borders and the coasts of Medina, in addition to Kuwait and limited parts of the Sultanate of Oman.

As for the dominant feature since the beginning of the winter season until the time of preparing this report, it is the scarcity or lack of the number of major rainy cases, due to many factors and direct and indirect weather conditions in varying proportions, including:

subtropical atmospheric altitude

The concentration of this height in the high layers of the atmosphere in large areas of the center and east of the Arabian Peninsula, led to the placement of what resembles a buffer barrier, in front of the cold air basins from the north and the breaking of the jet streams to the south, which greatly limited the interaction of surface atmospheric pressure in a good way and the formation of cases The general or main rain, especially the main areas of the western and central.

The region also suffered from the lack of depth and a strong rush of the upper air depressions from the northern and western gate in a suitable manner.

surface atmospheric pressures

As a result of the distribution of air masses and atmospheric pressure in the atmosphere, specifically in the higher layers of it, this led to the filling of atmospheric pressure in the north of the Arabian Peninsula, at the expense of the concentration of low atmospheric pressure in the south, and this means the blowing of dry and cold northern winds, especially over Iraq and parts of Saudi Arabia. The decrease in atmospheric pressure values in the Empty Quarter limits the penetration of humid winds from the Arabian Sea.

Surface temperatures of the Arabian Sea and the northern Indian Ocean

The presence of cold water in the Arabian Sea since the fall of 2021 led to a significant decrease and weakness in the amount of water vapor arriving into the Arabian Peninsula, and this resulted in a significant weakness in the interaction of rain clouds in the case of the extension of some cold air basins from the north.