Nighttime temperatures have dropped drastically in various cities throughout the region and chilly winds have forced residents and expatriates to either stay indoors or flock to the many glitzy shopping malls.

In some cities, such as Rafha and Hafr Al-Batin, the temperatures dropped to zero last week. In Dammam, Alkhobar and Jubail, however, the mercury has not dipped below 10 degrees Celsius but cold, gusty winds sometimes make it feel as if the temperature is below 5 degrees Celsius.

Not many are complaining about the weather, though. “This is the best weather,” said a Saudi engineering student Adnan Al-Roweita. “My university friends and I are having a ball during the evenings … it is very pleasant — quite a relief from the harsh summer weather we had two months ago.”

According to Al-Roweita, the number of families visiting the beaches has certainly gone down. “This is not beach weather for obvious reasons, especially because of the chilly winds,” he said. “But even so, the ‘shabab’ — the young — are always seen clustering on the beaches smoking ‘shisha’ and making bonfires to keep themselves warm.”

Al-Roweita said the shopping malls are packed with people dressed in their winter best. “It is so colorful … I wish this weather could continue for the rest of the months,” he said.

However, the sometimes-pleasant, sometimes-frosty weather is not going to stay forever. Mohammad Al-Qahtani, director of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment in the Eastern Province, said: “We will have this pleasant weather for another 35-40 days …. So enjoy it while it lasts.”

According to him, next week will see rains as well. “That might lead to an even further drop in temperatures,” Al-Qahtani said.

Rains are seen as a boon because they transform the desert landscape.

Al-Qahtani said there is nothing abnormal about the weather conditions. “This is the norm for this time of year,” he noted. “The weather is progressing according to its usual pattern.”

Schoolchildren are the ones who are bearing the brunt of the frosty weather. “Getting up early and commuting to school on cold and breezy mornings are quite an ordeal,” said Ambreen Sultana, a Pakistani student at a private school. “But as the day progresses and the sun begins shining, it is actually great fun to be out in the school playground,” she noted.

“It is quite a luxury to bask in the sun on such winter days,” said her sister Hina. “I like this weather and I am not complaining, though my mother is quite concerned. She insists that we wear our sweaters and mufflers whenever we are outside.”

Jaber Ammar Ahmad, a Palestinian-Jordanian expatriate in Dammam’s Al-Shatea district, says the cold weather has brought all kinds of migratory birds to the Eastern Province. “At evening time, you can see flocks of birds in the skies, landing here and there, and frolicking at the sea shore,” he said. “They make for a wonderful sight and the children love them.”

The morning hours, he noted, are punctuated by the chirping of parrots, sparrows, partridges and pigeons. “There is something about this weather … it seems to be a harbinger of glad tidings,” he said with great relish.

The cold weather has seen Saudis and expatriates buying portable heaters in large numbers. “We sold 140 pieces of a particular brand of oil heater in four hours,” said a clerk at a well-known electronics store. “They are selling like hot cakes.”