''Khareef'' ( ar, خَرِيْف, Kharīf, autumn) is a colloquial Arabic term used in southern

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 ...

, southeastern

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

, southwestern

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 Ara ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

for the southeastern

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

. The monsoon affects

Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah G ...

and

Al Mahrah Governorate Al Mahrah ( ar, ٱلْمَهْرَة '), or simply Mahra, is a governorate (''muhafazah'') of Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Situated in the area of the former Mahra Sultanate, its capital is Al Ghaydah, and it has internat ...

s from about June to early September. Towns such as

Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...

depend upon the khareef for water supply. An annual Khareef festival is held in Salalah to celebrate the monsoon and attracts tourists. The Khareef leads to a unique ecological habitat along the coast known as the Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert.

References

External links

Oman: Essential Information

Khareef Festival: A Bird's Eye View
Tropical meteorology Climate of Asia {{climate-stub