Latest news with #HusseinAl-Qahtani
Gulf Insider
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Gulf Insider
NMC: Summer Season To Begin In Saudi Arabia On June 1
The National Center of Meteorology (NMC) stated that Saudi Arabia is now 12 days away from the meteorological start of summer on June 1. This day will mark the beginning of a gradual rise in temperatures across various regions. Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman of NMC, said that Jeddah recorded the highest temperature in the Kingdom on Tuesday, reaching 47 degrees Celsius in the shade. This is an early indication of the intensification of summer weather, reflecting a significant increase in temperatures, especially in the western regions of Saudi Arabia. NMC is geared up to mobilize all its modern capabilities and equipment to carry out its work during summer. The center relies on the latest technologies and modern meteorological programs represented by observatories across the Kingdom, including weather radars, satellite images, and the Saudi numerical model, in addition to manned observatories and mobile automatic stations that operate around the clock to achieve the utmost accuracy in the center's forecasts.
AFP
19-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Video shows sandstorm in Saudi Arabia, not Israel
"Israel Hit by Massive Desert Storm Amid The Nation's Fire Emergency," says the Indonesian-language caption to the video filmed from inside a vehicle and showing a giant wall of dust. It has racked up more than 83,000 views since being posted on Instagram on May 2, 2025. The post added that the clip was filmed in Israel's southern Negev desert. Image Screenshot of false post, taken on May 7, 2025 The video was also misrepresented on X, Facebook, Threads and TikTok and appeared in other posts written in English, Spanish and French. Powerful sandstorms swept through the Negev April 30 as parts of Israel were also battling wildfires driven by strong winds, Anadolu Agency reported (archived link). Bushfires near Jerusalem prompted widespread evacuations and road closures but were largely brought under control early May, authorities said (archived link). However, the video circulating across various social media platforms was not shot in Israel. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes found it posted on Facebook on March 21, 2025, along with a caption that says the footage was taken in Saudi Arabia (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the clip from March 2025 Turkey-based fact-checking organisation Teyit previously debunked the misrepresented clip and found a structure seen at the end corresponds to a 2023 photo of a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Wadi ad-Dawasir city (archived here and here). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and geotagged photo from Google Maps (R) with corresponding features highlighted by AFP A further search on Google Earth found aerial view of the mosque also corresponds to one shown in the video (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and aerial image from Google Earth (R) with corresponding features highlighted by AFP The spokesperson for Saudi Arabia's National Center of Meteorology, Hussein Al-Qahtani, had also issued a statement in late March on his official X account that a dust storm had hit Wadi ad-Dawasir (archived link). AFP Fact Check has previously debunked several claims with misrepresented videos regarding Israel here and here.
Gulf Insider
23-02-2025
- Climate
- Gulf Insider
Cold Wave Grips Saudi Arabia: Temperature Expected To Drop Below Zero
Saudi meteorology authorities have warned that several areas in the kingdom will experience a sharp drop in temperature on Saturday (today), signaling a new cold wave. The National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) stated that the regions of Northern Borders, Tabuk, Al Jawf, Ha'il, and the northern parts of the Medina region will be affected by the wave starting Saturday, with minimum temperatures expected to range between 2°C and 0°C. Temperatures are expected to drop further by Monday, with temperatures in these five regions plunging below zero. The centre also forecasted that from Tuesday, the impact of the temperature drop will extend to other regions, including the central Al Qassim region, northern parts of Riyadh, and the Eastern Province, with minimum temperatures expected to range between 0°C and 2°C. NCM spokesman Hussein Al-Qahtani predicted that the cold wave would lead to a sharp drop in temperatures. 'This may be the last cold wave of this year's winter, which ends meteorologically on February 28, and coincides with Foundation Day (today) and the end of the second semester holidays,' he said in a post on the X platform. Saudi Arabia annually celebrates Foundation Day on February 22. He advised the public to take precautions, follow the instructions issued by the relevant authorities, and stay updated with NCM temperature drop may reach as low as -4°C in the kingdom's north, centre, and northeast.
