Sandstorm Madar hits parts of Saudi Arabia

An advance alert was issued on Sunday following a sandstorm that hit the western city of Jeddah and other areas of Saudi Arabia.

“Jeddah was on advance alert this morning but the condition is mild now,”said  Hussein Al-Qahtani, official spokesperson of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection (PME).

Jeddah’s case is the lowest on the scale of climate severity, he said.

The sandstorm, named Madar by the Committee for Naming Saudi Climate Conditions, caused obscured visibility of less than one kilometre. This mainly affected drivers.

The areas affected by the storm were Qassim, the Eastern Province, Riyadh, Northern Borders, Madinah and parts of Makkah Province, which includes Jeddah.

The dusty weather in Jeddah and other areas in the Kingdom was caused by a sandstorm that hit the Libyan desert in the past few days, and then passed through Egypt.