A massive sandstorm has hit the southern Iraq and north-west of Kuwait on Friday. It has been affecting parts of eastern Saudi Arabia as well. The gradual movement of the storm is likely to affect Bahrain and Qatar as well and today it is to arrive in UAE.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) in Abu Dhabi has also issued a weather alert saying the winds and dust may reach the western region of Abu Dhabi Emirate at around 10am on Saturday. Horizontal visibility will also go down to 1,000 to 2,000 metres.

Forecasters said the wind speed over Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia is more than 80km per hour. Visibility has been severely  affected in some places as it has gone down to just 50 metres.

Umrah Pilgrims asked to be careful

People, who are travelling to Saudi Arabia from the UAE in small cars, especially for Umrah, have been asked to be extremely careful as poor visibility and strong winds could cause problems for them.

“It would be advisable for them to delay their travel for at least a day or two,” said the forecasters.

The road leading to Hafoof, a city in eastern Saudi Arabia and an important station on the Umrah route, and its surrounding areas could be buried in the sand at different places. Cars and small vehicles could get stuck in the sand on the roads, said the forecasters.