The bad weather has forced local authorities in in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to shut down schools.
Qatar’s supreme education council tweeted its decision to close private and public schools on Thursday due to the poor weather conditions.
“Due to extreme weather conditions, all Qatar independent and private schools will observe a day off today Thursday,” the tweet from @SEC_QATAR read.
more pics and video after the cut
Kuwait SANDSTORM !!!! Camp Buehring 25Mar2011
These two comparative photographs show Dubai, Al Barsha road on normal day and during today's (April 2 2015) sandstorm.
Several universities in Qatar have also been closed due to the bad weather.
According to media reports, the weather pattern is developing due to a high pressure in Saudi Arabia.
Indian schools in the UAE, which opened this week, will continue to function as normal. Most other boards – UK and US – are closed for spring break.
Through their official twitter handle, National Center of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS) warned of “poor visibility to less than 500 meters at times due to fresh to strong wind loaded and causing blowing dust”.
With the visibility low, the weather bureau tips motorists to exert caution on the roads. Due to the rough weather, residents are warned against heading to the beach.
sample pics of sandstorm
