Its raining, its pouring, the PM 2.5 is blowing

Its the start of 'winter' in Doha. So far, this means that the temperature cools slightly (from highs of 120 degrees to highs of 92 degrees). It also means that rain becomes much more likely. 

The first big rainstorm came while I was out of the country - it was a massive rainstorm (for Qatar) that lasted about two hours. 

Doha is in the desert, and it is NOT built to handle rainfall. Most of the roads do not have drains and if they do, the drains are not that big (it rarely rains so why would you need them?). This meant that during this massive 2 hour rain storm, many of the streets flooded - which led to the formation of rivers in the street. Cars became boats! People used Kayaks to get down the street. 

Apparently the parking lot near my housing flooded (but thankfully my apartment did not) and the campus lost internet for two days. I arrived shortly after internet was turned on and the water receded, but I saw the impacts on the parking lot near my street. Mud everywhere! 

The rainfall provided such much needed water to the region and also helped to clear the skies from some of the PM 2.5 particles. The air quality dropped from 163 (Unhealthy) to 81 (moderate) for two whole days!  When I arrived two days later, the air quality had already increased back to unhealthy levels of 150. 

Thankfully, its still rainy season so the rain keeps coming. The rain has been hitting in mid-to late afternoon, as the warm humid temperatures lead to build up of storm clouds in the region. The entire peninsula of Qatar is about the size of Rhode Island - only 99 miles long and varying from 35-40 miles across. So even the smallest storms take over the peninsula. 

Today, I spent the afternoon working in a coffee shop in a new town built in Qatar - the area of Lusail. This area is slightly north of the capital of Doha, and along the coast. Most famously, Lusail is home to the stadium for the 2022 world cup final. 

I found a coffee shop with excellent windows so I could enjoy the storm in all of its glory. As the storm approached, the sky became darker, which is normal. However, the darkness was a slightly more orange quality that I am used to. I was curious about this so I stepped outside to take a photo...when I was hit with a massive wave of nasty tasting air. 

I then realized that the wind was blowing all of the sand and dust from the desert into the city. That's what the weather report said - rain with blowing dust. 

Thankfully, a lovely thunderstorm hit with a lot of rain and washed most of the particulates out of the air. Now the air quality is much better and it is blue skies all around! Watch a video of the storm at this link. 

I'm really lucky to be able to experience these changes, and hope that the rain continues to keep the skies clear so I can enjoy my time outdoors. For the meantime, I will use the time to get work done inside.