Hail fell on areas in southern Kuwait, in a rare phenomenon that meteorologists said that the Gulf country, known for its high temperatures in the summer, had not witnessed it for nearly two decades.
Heavy rains fell and temperatures dropped in the desert country, which is one of the freest countries in the world.
And social media users shared pictures and videos in which the roads were covered in white in Kuwait.
Today's weather is very nice.. The first time I see snow falling here in Kuwait ❄️
.
I ask God to write it as good rain and a beneficial rain❤️
.# Snow_Kuwait pic.twitter.com/cTXAY5vhd8
- Meshary Walid Al-Baghli (@misharialbaghli) December 27, 2022
Glory be to our Lord # Snow_Kuwait pic.twitter.com/nZeK692mr8
- Noura Al terkawi (@ Nouraa1979Tr) December 28, 2022
The Ministry of the Interior: Closing several roads due to the rain and snow wave
• Fahaheel Road towards Umm Al-Hayman area
• Coastal road towards Al-Kut Complex
• Shuaiba Port Roads "Al-Makhzen" https://t.co/TAVMMFEAEo
- Al-Ziyadi (@AlziadiQ8) December 27, 2022
And the Meteorological Department of the Kuwaiti General Administration of Civil Aviation revealed that the highest level of rain in the Al-Ahmadi region was 52 mm, while the amount of water falling in other regions varied, and snow continued to fall, and security and traffic patrols spread in the streets and roads, and the concerned authorities raised the highest levels of alert in anticipation. For any emergency due to weather fluctuations.
pic.twitter.com/EbVx6orAIK
- Videoq8 (@Video_kwt) December 27, 2022
Meteorologist and former director of the Meteorological Department, Muhammad Karam, told Agence France-Presse that the amount of hail that formed a white cover in the southern regions “rarely” falls in Kuwait.
He added, "We have not seen hail in the winter season for 15 years," referring to the formation of snow crystals to the fall of large amounts of rain, amounting to 66 mm in Ahmadi Port, and to low temperatures, expecting a recurrence of the phenomenon in the coming years due to climate changes taking place in the world.
Kuwait snow 🇰🇼 ❄️ pic.twitter.com/LSArM7G1zq
— WHR (@whrumor) December 27, 2022
During the last ten years, Kuwait recorded record temperatures that mostly exceeded 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Last year, for the first time, the weather exceeded 50 degrees Celsius in the previous June, weeks before the usual peak weather.
The temperature in parts of Kuwait could rise by 4.5 degrees Celsius from 2071 to 2100 compared to the historical average, Bloomberg reported on the Kuwaiti Environment Public Authority this month, making large areas of the country uninhabitable.