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Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar recorded the lowest-ever temperature in the country's history on Sunday at just 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to Qatar Meteorology Department (QMD).
Abu Samra recorded the temperature, equivalent to 34 degrees Fahrenheit, in the"early morning", the lowest since the 3.8 degrees Celsius recorded in Mesaieed in January of 1964.
Temperatures have been relatively low for the past several days in the country and the QMD said this was due to an area of high pressure and an air mass close to regions in the country.
The statement added that Sunday dawn saw falling temperatures and decreasing wind speed until 5:40 am when temperatures reached 9 degrees Celsius.
The change in wind direction and a mass of cold air approaching the shore led to a prompt fall in temperature.
The country would continue to experience the cold spell brought forth by the northwesterly winds from the icy European regions. Mercury is expected to dip as low as 7 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country tonight.
While nights would remain chilly, days would be warmer compared with the last few days with winds subsiding.
Maximum temperature in Doha is expected to soar to 20 degrees, while in Mesaieed, Al Wakrah and Al Khor it will be 19 degrees.
"Temperature at night will continue to be low for the next couple of days, while days will be less cold. The situation will improve at the end of this week," head of Forecasting and Analysis Section of Meteorology Abdulla Mohammed al Mannai said.
With temperature dropping to its lowest in Qatar, the demand for room heaters and winter clothes has shot up.
Markets and malls hav witnessed a high demand for room heaters and winter clothes in the past couple of days.
A manager at one of the malls in Doha said the sales have gone up 50 percent for room heaters and winter clothes in the past three days. The demand is an all-time high so far, he added.
Muhannad Kamal, a shopper at one of the malls who has spent all his life in Qatar, said,"I never bought a heater before. Now, since temperature has dropped significantly, I grew worried about my three kids and so I had to ensure that I keep the rooms warm by using room heaters."
Prices of electric heaters range between QR85 and QR200, while fuel heaters cost somewhere between QR125 and QR400.
According to customers, prices of winter clothes have also gone up and shops are taking the advantage of the high demand."In my opinion, shops are making the most of the high demand due to the cold weather nowadays," said Radwan, a shopper.
Meanwhile, vegetable farmers in the northern region of the country, especially those who grow vegetables in open farms and not in green houses, are in panic due to record decline in temperature over the past few days.
They fear that temperature remaining below 8 degrees Celsius for some days may damage green vegetables.
An employee at a vegetable farm at Al Shahaniya said,"Strong wind coupled with low temperature badly affects plants like pumpkin and bitter gourd, which grow in moderate climate. In fact, the leaves of many of the plants have become partly dead due to the cold wave."
A visitor at Al Mazrouah Yard in Umm Salal on Saturday said,"There was shortage of some varieties of vegetables today as vendors expressed their inability to collect the yield due to the inclement weather conditions."
