In a weather forecast issued earlier in the day, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) said the sky would be cloudy in parts of the southwest and western areas of the Kingdom, with some rain in Makkah, Taif, Madinah and Qassim.

It also predicted that visibility will be less than 3 km in the north, east, central and southern parts of the Kingdom as well as in areas located between Makkah and Madinah.

It predicted, however, that visibility will improve today in Makkah, Madinah and in southwestern parts of the Kingdom, with a possible increase in humidity in the coastal areas by the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.

In Riyadh the skies were cloudy the whole day yesterday, with a drizzle occurring at about 5.30 p.m.

“The sandstorm caused a lot of problems, especially to health. As soon as you got out of the house, you had to hurry to your car to avoid sniffing dust,” said Cenon “Nonie” C. Sagadal, a marketing representative.

He noted that because of the dust many local activities were postponed, adding many schools had closed. However, some that had not closed held classes for only a half day on Monday and Tuesday.

Dusty weather also hit the Asir province for the last two days, causing the King Khaled and Prince Sultan universities to close.

“The weather was bad on Monday but worse on Tuesday, with zero visibility,” said Andy Relox, a statistician at King Khaled University.

Dusty weather also persisted for the last three days in the Qassim area. “The sandstorm is not that strong anymore and visibility has improved but last night it was strong. It rained as well,” said Buraidah-based Christopher Agustin, an analyst at a pharmaceutical company.