Makkah: When you think of Saudi Arabia, the image that comes to mind is a desert stretching as far as the eye can see? But that’s the old picture. Saudi Arabia is also a country with green mountains and beautiful scenery. Recently, pictures and videos of Mecca’s hills being covered in green have been circulating on social media. The sight of small plants and flowers sprouting in the dry mountains without any greenery is refreshing to the eyes.
Sporadic rains in the last few months have sown the seeds of greenery in the parched land. The National Center for Vegetation Cover Department and Comating Desertification has informed that there has been a 600 percent increase in vegetation in the Makkah region between August and December 2023. Due to the rain received during this period, the area became green. Rainfall during this period reached 200 mm.
In August, the green areas of Makkah region were 3,529.4 square kilometers. This represents 2.3 percent of the total area of ​​the region. Rainfall levels increased exponentially in the following months. By the end of 2023, this has increased to 26,256 sq km, according to an analysis of remote sensing data. The parallel mountains and highlands are lush with greenery. The rain also spread to Taif, Al-Layth, Al-Jamoom, Al-Kamil and Khulais.
Greenery is widespread in the mountains along the route of the Haramain Expressway connecting Makkah and Madinah. Plants and grasses like mustard green cover the hills. All the small flowers that are seen among the greenery present a pleasant sight. In Saudi Arabia, which has a scorching summer, it has been raining more recently than in previous years. This green beauty is a new experience for tourists coming to Saudi.
