Doha Fog will Continue to Thursday

By, 2016-12-27

For the second day now, many parts of Doha has been covered with an unusual sea fog.

Drivers had suffered from a very low visibility, which was as low as zero in some parts of Doha. Many people have shared photos and videos on social media about this very rare phenomenon.

It seems like what Doha is going through right now is a rare form of ‘sea fog,’ which was formed offshore east of the country. According to The Peninsula newspaper, the foggy climate is expected to last until this Thursday.

The Qatar Meteorology Department has forecasted misty to foggy conditions at most places, which will get milder during the day. There will also be clouds and the nights will be colder than usual. There is a chance of visibility falling to a mere 1km ahead.

However, the temperature is not expected to change and will range between 19 and 24 degree Celsius today and until this Thursday. While the maximum temperature outside would be 23 degree Celsius, while minimum would be between 15 and 18 degree Celsius. The sea is calm and the wind speed will be between 4 to 10 knots.

Mr Mohammed Al Mannai, the Director of Department of Meteorology, was quoted through the Peninsula newspaper: “Various meteorological factors happened at the same time to bring down the dense fog during early afternoon, yesterday. Fog needs light winds and high relative humidity to form and these conditions are associated with high pressure systems, that prevail over Qatar currently.”

“This is just a natural phenomenon, nothing to be worried about. The wind speed, wind direction and the high humidity combined to bring this sea fog on to land last evening. The visibility had fallen to zero at most places,” he added.

Light easterly winds caused sea fog patches to move towards the country’s eastern coastal areas in the afternoon. Traffic jams were reported in several areas especially by Doha Cornich.

The Ministry of Interior urges motorists to use defrosters and wipers to enhance visibility and to keep windows and mirrors clean. The Ministry also urges all drivers to slow down while driving during foggy climates.