Riyadh residents welcome arrival of cool weather

Riyadh: Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr.

Both Saudis and expatriates in Riyadh are happy to feel the change in seasons after the long summer heat, as the air begins to cool for the winter.
“The current temperature is much better compared to the weather we experienced during previous months. The air is crisp and invigorating,” said Abu Ali, a Saudi who works for a private firm in the city.
“Cool weather is something my family and I look forward to each year as it’s such a relief from the oppressive warm weather during summer.”
Muhammed Haider Baksh, a Pakistani caretaker in a residential building in Malaz district, said, “The temperature has considerably dropped — from 43 to 45 degree Celsius during summer to 27 degrees Celsius as it is now.”
Eric Asi, a senior Filipino engineer at Nardeen Lighting, said the Riyadh’s weather resembles that of the Philippines these days.
“My wife and two kids love going out at night. The cool weather reminds us of home, which is currently enjoying a similar weather change because of the northeasterly winds from the China Sea,” he said.
He said that cool weather in Riyadh reminds him of Baguio City, which is the country’s summer capital located north of Manila.
“Baguio City, in fact, has cool weather all year round,” said Asi, who is from Calapan in Mindoro province, south of Manila.
Nour Hussein, a Bangladeshi in the capital, added that he and other compatriots love Riyadh’s cool weather. “However, it makes me homesick. It reminds me of similar weather in Bangladesh at certain times of the year,” he added.