KUWAIT: Astronomer Adel Al-Marzouq predicted that the weather would stabilize starting from tomorrow before marking the beginning of a 13-day cold wave on Friday that is locally known as Al-Naayem, which can be extremely cold and accompanied by night frost in desert areas. "This period is traditionally known to affect elderly sleeping people," he said, noting that there was an old saying about it that goes 'Al-Naayem chill makes seniors sleeping warmly feel cold.'

Marzouq added that these 13 days would be followed by four even colder days locally known as the 'Azaireq,' urging everybody to be aware of extreme low temperatures, especially those camping in the desert. Marzouq elaborated that at the conclusion of the 40-day 'Merbeaniya' cold wave on Thursday, the weather is forecast to be clear with northwesterly moderate cold wind and low temperatures at night. He added that temperatures are expected to drop to two or three degrees centigrade in desert areas during the night and early hours of the morning.

Marzouq said that Friday, Jan 15, would mark the beginning of the Naayem cold wave when winds are expected to shift to southeasterly with moderate speed and the possibility of light showers at night. As for Saturday, Jan 16, Marzouq said that temperatures would considerably rise due to a shift to light southeasterly winds and the possibility of scattered rain in the early morning. He added that temperatures would rise during the rest of next week to reach 18-21 C by day and 6-8 C at dawn with clear skies.

By A Saleh