Spectacular Sand Storm Blankets Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

A powerful sandstorm swept through parts of the Middle East on March 10th, grinding all activities to a complete halt for a few hours. While sandstorms are common in spring, this was one of the biggest storms the area has seen, in decades.

Kuwait and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, were among the hardest hit by the storm, which in some cases lasted for as long as two hours.

Both had to shut down their airports, close schools and advise people to stay indoors. The storm came in so rapidly, that traffic halted to a stop, as drivers struggled to see the road ahead. Kuwait, one of the world's leading oil producers, had to even shut down its ports for a few hours, disrupting all exports. When the ordeal ended, the entire city was covered with sand and the bright blue sky had turned an eerie orange-brown. As a result of the sand, a lot of people had difficulty breathing and were rushed to hospitals.

Sandstorms occur when strong winds pick up a lot of dry desert sand and carry it across to populated areas. They are a common occurrence during spring in the Middle East, because the high desert temperatures, causes the air to get hot and create an unstable low atmosphere. This in turn, creates high winds near the surface, which lifts as much loose sand as it can, and blows it to other areas. The amount of sand lifted, depends on how dry the conditions are. In this case, Kuwait has had hardly any rain for the last three years - making the conditions optimal for such a massive storm.

The two videos shot within five minutes of each other, will give you an idea of how fast it all happened.

guardian.co.uk, miamiherald.com, iht.com