Environment & Energy | Monday 9 February, 2015 12:17 am |

A blanket of sandstorm swiped the capital on Sunday morning, enveloping city skyline with heavy dust caused by strong winds, hampering visibility and creating traffic snarls on busy roads.

The traffic department advised motorists to exercise caution, use headlights and do not drive fast to avoid any eventuality due
to high speed as darkness enveloped the main arteries including King Fahd Road, Khurais road and Makkah and Madinah highways because of the storm which started early morning.

The bad weather, however, had no major impact on the air traffic in Riyadh as flights were on schedule.
Khalid Al-Khaibary, general manager (public relations) at the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) told Arab News, “the air
traffic was smooth and there was no cancellations or delay on Sunday."

Furthermore, there was no report of any untoward incident due to the sandstorm, said the civil defense department.
Earlier, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has warned about the sandstorm approaching Riyadh with a one-meter horizontal visibility.
The weather forecast for the capital also include partly cloudy sky on Monday.

The maximum temperatures peaked at 30 degrees Celsius while the relative humidity was pegged at 25 percent.
Notably, dust storm coupled with rain at this point of time heralds the onset of summer in the Saudi capital.