Cold spell likely to continue in Oman

Muscat: The cold weather Oman experienced on Monday is expected to continue for the next few days, according to the Directorate General of Meteorology at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, an official from PACA said, “There will be low temperatures and cloud formation over Muscat for two days. There will be heavy concentration of this over Muscat, and some parts of Al Batinah, with there being some chances of rain. This is because the wind is expected to change from north-easterly to north-westerly direction.”
On Monday, temperatures in Oman dropped to just one degree in areas such as the Saiq plateau near Al Jabal Al Akhdar, which continued to record the lowest temperature in Oman at 1.7 degrees Celsius.
The other locations that made up Oman’s five coldest places all had temperatures between seven and nine degrees Celsius.
These included Maqshin (7 degrees), Mazyunah (7.4 degrees), Nizwa (8 degrees) and Mhada (8.7 degrees).
In contrast, the warmest place in Oman crossed temperatures of 30 degrees, with Taqah in the Dhofar Governorate registering a temperature of 30.8 degrees. Shelim (29.4 degrees), Salalah (29.4 degrees), Joba (29.3 degrees) and Jazer (29 degrees) were among those locations that recorded the highest temperatures on Monday.
“Over most of the Sultanate, winds will be north-westerly light to moderate, and occasionally fresh,” said PACA, describing wind patterns in the country, while all three bodies of water around Oman, the Musandam Sea, the Sea of Oman, and the Arabian Sea, are in a state that is moderate to rough, with waves reaching heights of between two and three metres.
The cold weather saw temperatures plummet to about 15 degrees in Muscat, and the capital is, according to PACA, expected to record minimum temperatures of 16 degrees on Tuesday, and 15 degrees on Wednesday, with similar readings forecast for other areas of the country as well.
A statement previously released by the organisation, in the context of weather on Monday and the following days, said, “There will be relatively cold weather and mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate. A few parts like Musandam, Al Buraimi and the coastal areas of Oman Sea are expected to be cloudy with chances of isolated rain. A chance of dust rising wind over deserts and open areas and late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches over Al Buraimi, Al Dhahirah and Al Wusta governorates is expected.”