A shamal ( ar, شمال, 'north') is a northwesterly
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
blowing over
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
states (including
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night.
This weather effect occurs from once to several times a year, mostly in summer, but sometimes in winter.
[ The resulting wind typically creates large sandstorms that impact Iraq, most sand having been picked up from ]Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and Syria.
Synoptic conditions
Summer shamal
When a passing storm with a strong cold front passes over the mountains of Iran, the leading edge of a mass of relatively cooler air kicks up dust
Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...
and sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
, sending it aloft. Temperatures at lower elevations still hover above 42° C (105° F) during these events.
Winter shamal
In Iraq, where winter storms can bring heavy snow to the terrain, a layer of dust can settle onto the snowpack.
A winter shamal is associated with the strengthening of a high-pressure area
A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...
over the peninsula after the passage of a cold front while a deep trough of low pressure
In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
maintains itself over areas east of the Persian Gulf.[ This leads to strong northerly wind over the Persian Gulf for periods up to five days. They are associated with cold temperatures.
The places around the ]Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
most likely to see the winter variety lie near Lavan Island, Halul Island, and Ras Rakan. They persist from 24–36 hours during the winter and occur as frequently as two to three times per month in December–February. A persistent three- to five-day event occurs only once or twice a winter, and is accompanied by very high winds and seas.
Effects
Shamals normally last three to five days. The dust- and sandstorm is several thousand feet deep. Wind speeds can reach up to 70 km/h. Such events can impact health and transport, as visibility becomes limited, and some flights get cancelled. Sand dunes build up on roads and require considerable effort to remove. Some infrastructure, such as street signs, become damaged by the shamals.
Examples
A study by Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
on fossil corals in Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
provides an evidence that prolonged winter shamal seasons around 2200 BCE led to the salinization of the irrigated fields; hence, a dramatic decrease in crop production triggered a widespread famine and eventually the collapse of the ancient Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one ...
.
Some investigations have also reported that dust storms generated over west Asian regions during summer can alter regional circulation features, even affecting the Indian summer monsoon rainfall.
A notable storm caused by a shamal covered Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
with sand on 8 August 2005, resulting in a closing of nearly all shops and public activity. The storm also overwhelmed Baghdad's Yarmuk Hospital, which treated more than a thousand people with respiratory distress.
From 1–4 February 2008, a massive dust storm was associated with a shamal wind advected over the Arabian Sea. The leading edge of the dust storm moved at an estimated 20 km/h, and at one point extended from Muqdisho, Somalia, to Mumbai, India. Dust from this storm received press from the sports media as it swept across the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament, where Tiger Woods was playing.
In May 2022, one person died and 5,000 people were admitted to hospitals with breathing problems in Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, Al Anbar
Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...
and Najaf
Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
Governorates, due to shamal blowing which turned the skies orange in those regions.
Miscellany
* A question about this wind was part of the 2003 National Geographic Bee
The National Geographic GeoBee (called the National Geography Bee from 1989 to 2000 and the National Geographic Bee from 2001 to 2018, also referred to as the Nat Geo Bee) was an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Soc ...
.
* ''Shamal'', an Arabic word meaning "north", is a male name in Afghanistan and Kurdistan, and means both "wind" and "north".
* A sandstorm caused by shamal winds tore apart a U.S. Marine encampment on HBO's ''Generation Kill'' TV series about the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
See also
*Dust storm
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...
*'' N'aschi''
References
External links
Names of Winds
{{Asia Pollution
Winds
Natural history of Iraq