News

Camels ‘confused’ in the snow as blizzard hits Saudi Arabia

A snow-covered camel sits in the snow as a blizzard continues above it.
Joyce Karam/Twitter

A video has surfaced on social media showing two camels sitting in the snow as a blizzard hits Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.

The country in Western Asia is commonly associated with desert conditions, with camels often seen in much drier weather.

This led to people expressing their astonishment at the 31-second clip, which surfaced on Twitter on Thursday.

Joyce Karam, senior correspondent at United Arab Emirates publication The National, said: “Woah. Heavy snow storm is underway in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. These camels look so confused.

“TBH we are all confused with snow today in Texas, Alabama, Saudi, Jordon, Syria, Lebanon.

“Tomorrow gonna be us in DC.”

The adverse conditions comes after Saudi Arabian authorities issued weather warnings for multiple regions in the Kingdom for this weekend, with the New York Post reporting that Tabuk experienced lows of around 36F (2C).

The unusual weather event prompted many to express concerns over climate change and its impact:

However, other users quickly pointed out that snow is quite common in the north-western region, with Fahad Nazer, spokesperson for the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington saying it’s “not that rare” for it to experience snow.

“Contrary to popular perception, not every region in the kingdom is warm year-round.

“Saudi Arabia is a relatively big country, in terms of both geography and population. Much like the US, as you travel from north to south or east to west, you will observe differences in climate, topography, dialects, clothing and cuisine,” he said.

The snow in Saudi Arabia comes as Texas continues to experience extreme weather, with residents living without electricity, heat or running water.

The Conversation (0)