Suffocation, zero visibility: How Makkah humidity, Riyadh dust keep security vigilant 
Since the first economic boom in 1975, the phenomenon of summer migration has become deeply ingrained in Saudi culture. This involves the mass exodus from hot cities such as Riyadh and Dammam — especially during the summer vacation — to inland cities such as Taif and Abha, or to destinations abroad.
During this period, major cities turn into ghost towns at midday, and only come alive between 8 p.m. and the early hours of the morning. This is to such an extent that stadiums, parks and shopping malls have developed recreational activities that operate exclusively during these hours.
This is a smart move, even if unintentional. Researchers at the US government’s National Center for Biotechnology Information concluded in 2024, after reviewing 16,643 international studies, that when people are exposed to a temperature rise of up to 10 degrees Celsius, their risk of committing violent crimes and assaults increases by 9 percent.
Perhaps this is summarized in a study released by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in 2024, which revealed that cyberattacks and digital fraud attempts decrease by 11 percent during heat waves. The reason is that hackers and fraudsters suffer from heat exhaustion and headaches, which affect their concentration and prevent them from sitting in front of screens for long periods.
It caught my attention that Riyadh ranked fourth, at 47 degrees Celsius, on the list of the hottest cities in Saudi Arabia. Topping the list were the cities of Al-Nairyah and Al-Qaisumah in the Eastern Province, with 53 degrees Celsius in the shade, followed by Jeddah at 52 degrees Celsius.
I honestly did not expect that. As for the global record, what is known as Death Valley in the US state of California holds the highest officially recorded temperature on the planet, reaching 56.7 degrees Celsius, and it remains unbroken to this day. The hottest place in Africa is the city of Ouargla in Algeria, reaching 51.3 degrees Celsius.
In a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2025, researchers analyzed 150,000 police reports and confirmed that heat waves lasting five consecutive days or more sharply increase rates of violent reports and domestic assaults, because heat reduces the body’s ability to regulate mood-related processes and increases adrenaline levels, which can turn any trivial argument between two people into a physical fight.
In some countries, summer is viewed as a threat to national security and infrastructure. The reality is that in India and Bangladesh, its effects go beyond just high temperatures; they extend to a nightmarish combination of extreme heat and tropical humidity. When temperatures in these two countries reach 35 degrees Celsius, the human body becomes unable to produce sweat or cool itself, turning the streets into mass chambers of thermal execution.
The University of California, Berkeley, reported in 2019 that violent altercations resulting from minor traffic accidents increase by 28 percent in June and July. This is due to the high heat inside the car cabin, which causes cerebrospinal fluid to evaporate slowly, leading to a chemical reaction that causes drivers to lose control of their emotions.
Heat-related disasters show no signs of abating. In 2019, the International Labour Organization reported that heat stress caused by climate change will result in a loss of productivity equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs by 2030. This will result in direct losses to the global economy amounting to $2.4 trillion, with agriculture and outdoor construction among the hardest-hit sectors.
In 2022, the University of Chicago published a study analyzing 20 years of crime data, finding that on days when summer temperatures are higher than normal, there is a 12 percent increase in shootings and armed assaults, and that it reduces sleep quality by 40 percent. The former leads to a loss of cognitive ability in the morning, causing people to make violent and hasty decisions when dealing with minor altercations.
Most importantly, a study conducted in the Makkah and Riyadh regions — published by the German Journal of Environmental Research and Pollution in 2022 — found that temperatures and humidity levels in these areas rise to stifling levels, increasing the likelihood of altercations and assaults. This necessitates an increased security presence and police readiness, especially given the rise in thefts and property crimes in the Riyadh region during the summer, as criminals exploit the natural cover provided by haze and dust. There are 17 such days in the Riyadh region each summer month, compared to four days in the Makkah region.
In my opinion, the most appropriate approach is to link the meteorological and criminal forecasting systems at the National Center for Meteorology and the security forces to develop an early warning system that predicts peaks in behavioral crimes based on daily weather maps, and to develop thermal surveillance cameras and advanced vision technologies, as well as measures to withstand dust and sandstorms in streets and public facilities, to ensure that security monitoring operations are not affected by weather fluctuations.
• Dr. Bader bin Saud is a columnist for Al-Riyadh newspaper, a researcher in media and knowledge management, a university professor and expert in crowd management and strategic planning, and the former deputy commander of the Special Forces for Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia. X: @BaderbinSaud
