A huge wall sandstorm swept the Al-Jouf region in Saudi Arabia, and the Arab weather explains the scientific reasons

Weather of Arabia - Al-Jawf region, including Tabarjal, Dumat al-Jandal, Sakaka, and its affiliated villages, all located in the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was exposed, on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, to a sudden, massive wall sandstorm.

The sandstorm caused very dusty weather with a sharp decrease or lack of horizontal visibility, which negatively affected the flow of movement on the roads, in addition to the negative effects of the thick dust on patients with the respiratory system and eyes.

What are wall sandstorms? And where do they occur?

Wall sandstorms is a concept called the phenomenon of the rise of a large amount of dust in a specific geographical area due to the great influence of the wind force, and its height can reach very high levels that may reach about 5-6 kilometers, and sandstorms cover geographical areas that extend for hundreds of kilometers .

Sand storms abound in desert and arid regions with little vegetation cover, where the soil is loose and winds are able to carry it. Perhaps the most active regions of the world with sand storms are the Sahara Desert, where the African Sahara is the largest source of dust globally, followed by the Badia of western Iraq, the Syrian Badia and northern Saudi Arabia.

What are the scientific reasons behind the formation of the sandstorm that affected northern Saudi Arabia?

The weather forecast staff at the Arab Regional Weather Center explained the scientific reason behind the formation of the wall sandstorm and its impact on the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as a result of the emergence of a strong state of atmospheric instability, which at that time affected many regions of Saudi Arabia and Iraqi lands in particular, and as It is well known that cases of atmospheric instability are accompanied by the formation of thick cumulus thunderclouds that grow vertically towards the upper layers of the atmosphere, and the movement of ascending and descending air currents is very active within it.

And the weather forecast staff at the Arab Weather Center indicated that the formation of the wall sandstorm is due to the downward winds that accompanied the thunderstorm clouds, as the downward winds emanate from an upper source and strike the surface of the earth radially, with straight lines in all directions, and the speed of the downward winds in some storms may reach Thunder 240 km / h.

God knows.