RIYADH, May 29 (Arab News): An unusually harsh heat wave could be expected in some regions this summer, according to Mansour Almazroui, director of the Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research at the Jeddah-based King Abdulaziz University (KAU).

“The weather will be generally hot and temperatures may reach 50 degrees Celsius or even higher by one or two degrees," said Almazroui, who is also the head of the KAU's Department of Meteorology.

"The forecast for Saudi Arabia indicates that the eastern and northeastern regions, as well as some areas of the central region, will experience temperatures above the seasonal mean; whereas temperatures in the western, northwestern and southwestern regions will be around the average.”

This is expected in view of global climate change, said the scientist, while asking schools to take precautions.

Children are more vulnerable to the searing climate, with many being hit by illness exacerbated by constant switching between the extreme heat outdoors and the air-conditioned chill in homes and schools. Many regions are already reeling under heat.

According to the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, temperatures in 2010 soared to high extremes in some regions of the Kingdom. Jeddah recorded 52 degrees at the end of June last year — the highest record so far, said Almazroui.

He attributed the climatic change in the Kingdom to the global ‘La Niña’ weather phenomenon, which is an unusual cooling of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. “The Kingdom’s climate is still being influenced by relatively cold mid latitude synoptic waves moving from the Mediterranean over the northwestern region and causing formation of clouds,” he explained. 

Almazroui pointed out that temperatures in Saudi Arabia were the highest on record during the last three decades. However, a comparison chart of May 2010 and May 2011 revealed that temperatures this month had been relatively around normal.

He said there had been relatively slight increases in temperatures in some parts of the eastern and southeastern regions of the Kingdom and in the UAE and Oman.

"Due to the formation of mid latitude circulation waves, the center of the warm dry subtropical high pressure area has shifted toward the southeastern region of the Arabian Peninsula," Almazroui said.

Also, the seasonal warm Indian monsoon during summer would greatly affect the Kingdom’s eastern and northeastern regions, as well as some areas of the central region, he added.

He pointed out that the temperature of a region further varies due to the topographic characteristics such as high and low elevations, land coverage and land types.

The Kingdom, situated in the southwest of Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia, is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula with hot and dry climate. The Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter) in the Kingdom is the world's largest sand desert.