The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) is closely monitoring weather conditions through the Arafat and Mina radars for the safety of the pilgrims in the holy sites, better known as Mashair.

Dr. Mohammed Al-Jasser, general president of the PME said: “The operation room for environment and meteorology is working to serve the sectors working during the Haj and providing them with data about the weather, temperature and climate.”

The room operates round-the-clock and is equipped with the required human resources and automated machines to ensure the safety and comfort of Haj pilgrims.

Al-Jasser explained that there are five automatic monitoring stations distributed in Mina, Muzdalifah, Arafat and some of the highways leading to the Mashaer specifically the Makkah-Jeddah Expressway, Makkah road and Madinah road. All of these stations work to provide the main center with meteorological and environmental information.

He pointed out that all the observation centers are associated with the main center located in Jeddah providing the latest updates in weather conditions and issuing weather bulletins.

“There is no indication of bad weather threatening the pilgrimage season. The sky will remain clear except for some cloud on the last three days. It may also be accompanied by light drizzle at high altitudes in Taif and parts of the holy sites,” assistant chief of the meteorology and national center for environmental observation Saad Muhallafi said in a statement.

He added that temperatures in the holy sites during the Haj were expected to reach highs of 38 degrees Celsius and lows of 21 degrees Celsius. The source added that more automated observation points in Jeddah, Madinah, and along the entire stretch of the Red Sea coast from north to south were being planned. The source added that the PME has launched a new portal to supply the latest weather reports at Arafat, Mina, Muzdalifah, Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah during the pilgrimage.

Al-Jasser said that the presidency inaugurated its own electronic portal of Meteorology and Environment reports during the Haj. He added that the portal will be equipped with various updated meteorological data, in addition to other environmental and meteorological information.

The portal sends information of weather and environment directly to the command and control center in Mina, in addition to relevant authorities.

The data includes weather forecasts at Muzdalifah, Mina, Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah as well as proactive weather Information for the upcoming ten days.

The presidency has operated the automatic monitoring stations in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah, and also the Red Sea coastal area. These stations receive satellite pictures and weather information from radars around the Kingdom operated by experts and specialists from the presidency. These experts use advanced tools to communicate the information to beneficiaries.

In the environmental sector, the PME operates mobile laboratories in the holy sites, to measure air quality and environmental pollutants in the Mashair, and the leading tunnels. It also works on drafting environmental studies and surveys, to protect the Haj environment and use this information in future analysis.

The supervisor of the Haj works stressed that satellites pick up images of the Mashear weather every 15 minutes. The data and the weather radars in Mina and Arafat that scan the skies of Makkah and the Mashaer areas, will be then analyzed.