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Snow covers Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk region on New Year’s Day

Residents and visitors have been flocking to Jebel Al Lawz since Saturday

Ismaeel Naar
Ismaeel Naar

January 02, 2022

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Snow blanketed parts of Saudi Arabia’s north-western city of Tabuk on New Year’s Day, footage shared online showed.

People have been flocking to Jebel Al Lawz since Saturday, when snow began to fall in most areas.

The extreme weather led the security forces to close the road leading to the area after thousands of residents and visitors arrived to enjoy the sight, reports said.

More snow is expected to fall on Jebel Al Lawz as well as the mountain areas of Al Dhahr and Alqan early on Sunday, with temperatures expected to drop below 0°C.

  • Snow has been falling on Jebel Al Lawz in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. Photo: SPA
    Snow has been falling on Jebel Al Lawz in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. Photo: SPA
  • People have been visiting the area since Saturday, to see the snow. Photo: SPA
    People have been visiting the area since Saturday, to see the snow. Photo: SPA
  • More snow is expected to fall on Jebel Al Lawz as well as the mountain areas of Al Dhahr and Alqan. Photo: SPA
    More snow is expected to fall on Jebel Al Lawz as well as the mountain areas of Al Dhahr and Alqan. Photo: SPA
  • Thunderstorms accompanied by showers and hail are expected in Makkah, Al Bahah, Riyadh, Al Qassim and other areas of the kingdom. Photo: SPA
    Thunderstorms accompanied by showers and hail are expected in Makkah, Al Bahah, Riyadh, Al Qassim and other areas of the kingdom. Photo: SPA
  • People enjoy a moment in the snow in Tabuk. Photo: SPA
    People enjoy a moment in the snow in Tabuk. Photo: SPA
  • Vehicles line the road to Jebel Al Lawz as hundreds of people visit the area. Photo: SPA
    Vehicles line the road to Jebel Al Lawz as hundreds of people visit the area. Photo: SPA
  • The extreme weather led security forces to close the road leading to the area, reports said. Photo: SPA
    The extreme weather led security forces to close the road leading to the area, reports said. Photo: SPA
  • Women play in the snow. Photo: @Sebusher via Twitter
    Women play in the snow. Photo: @Sebusher via Twitter

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence urged visitors and residents of Tabuk to be vigilant amid low visibility and the possibility of heavy rainfall and thunder expected to last until Monday.

Jebel Al Lawz is a mountain in the north-west of Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border in the Tabuk province, about 200 kilometres north-west of the city of Tabuk.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Meteorology said thunderstorms accompanied by showers and hail are expected in Makkah, Al Bahah, Riyadh, Al Qassim and other areas of the kingdom.

Snow covered parts of the kingdom’s northern cities last year. The last time Saudi Arabia experienced so much snowfall was in 2018, when locals and tourists took to fun snow activities such as riding sleighs and snowball fights.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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Updated: January 02, 2022, 1:57 PM
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