Date palms on the Corniche sway in the dusty breeze as the mercury dipped to nine degrees Celsius in parts of the country, yesterday. Pic: Baher Amin/The Peninsula
Weather, wind and chill remained the talk of the town yesterday as the mercury dipped to as low as nine degrees Celsius in parts of the country halting a number of outdoor activities including the opening of weekly MIA bazaar.
Cold weather accompanied by strong winds and dust forced majority of residents to stay indoors while some people enjoyed the chilly weekend with warm snacks and ginger-infused karak. The cold spell is due to Siberian high pressure accompanied by strong winds and is expected to last until tomorrow.
“We postponed our earlier picnic plan of visiting Katara due to this chilly weather. The exposure of kids to this cold weather is not appropriate,” said Faisal, a resident of Najma.
Qatar Meteorology Department also spent a busy yesterday and kept on updating residents on hour-to-hour weather conditions through its social media pages. In the morning when offshore wind-speed reached 45 knots and wave height was 10-14 feet, the department advised people to avoid maritime activities.
The wind-chill factor made the weather feel much colder particularly for the pedestrians. “I usually go to my office by foot but due to this gusty and dusty weather I hired a cab today to reach office,” said an employee of a hypermarket. People were wrapped in warm-clothes, mufflers etc during Friday prayers.
Owing to harsh weather, majority of residents cancelled their outdoor recreational trips temporarily bringing disappointment for dhow workers at Corniche. This weekend, MIA bazaar organisers announced that there would be no business-activity due to harsh, cold weather but the canopy-less bazaar would be open next Friday.
The weather will remain cold in the daytime today with some clouds and cold by night. The department has also forecasted strong winds to the Northern areas. North-westerly wind will be blowing at a speed ranging from 10-18 knots reaching 22 knots to Northern areas according to forecasters. The minimum temperature in the country today will be 11 degrees Celsius and maximum 19 degrees. From tomorrow, weather will go mild in the daytime. A salesman of tea shop at Old Airport Road said that the sales of sizzling karak had increased since the beginning of cold spell. “Along karak, people are also placing orders of hot snacks,” he added.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment also asked winter campers, livestock breeders and general public to take care of “cold, unstable” weather. It also advised people to remain in contact with official authorities for latest weather updates.
