Moderate weather forecast as heatwave recedes

AMMAN — Temperatures on Wednesday will drop back to their annual average for this time of the year as the impact of a four-day heatwave tapers off, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said on Tuesday.

The heatwave, which took hold of the country on Saturday and started to subside on Tuesday, pushed temperatures 12°C above the annual average during this time of the year of 27°C, according to a JMD meteorologist.

As an upper trough started to affect the country on Tuesday, spring moderate weather is expected to return, according to the weather forecaster, who said that the weather on Wednesday will be moderate in mountainous areas and relatively hot in the Dead Sea, Aqaba and the Jordan Valley.

Temperatures during the day will be 26°C, dropping to 13°C at night in Amman, while winds will be northwesterly moderate to brisk raising dust in the badia.

Another drop in mercury levels is expected on Thursday, when temperatures will be slightly below their annual average for this time of the year, the weather forecaster said, noting that fair weather is forecast across the country.

Temperatures will be 24°C during the day, dropping to 12°C at night in Amman, while winds will be northwesterly moderate to brisk raising dust in the badia.

On Friday, temperatures will slightly rise, the JMD meteorologist said, noting that the weather will be moderate across the country and relatively hot in the Dead Sea, Aqaba and the Jordan Valley.

Temperatures will range between a high of 27°C and a low of 16°C at night-time in the capital, while winds will be northwesterly moderate.

The recent heatwave, which pushed temperatures to 39°C in Amman and the central region, and above 45°C in the Jordan Valley, caused crop damages, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Adnan Khaddam, the president of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union, as saying.

Khaddam highlighted that the blossoms and fruits of eggplant and bell pepper dried up and fell off, while tomatoes planted in open fields were slightly burned due to the heat, noting that temperatures reached a high of 50°C in certain parts of the Jordan Valley.

Ripen tomatoes and zucchini planted in greenhouses, in which temperatures reached 65°C, were also damaged, while moderate to considerable damages were incurred by the citrus trees, Khaddam said.

For his part, Abdul Kareem Shihab, the head of the Jordan Valley Agriculture Directorate, said there were no complaints from farmers in the valley, indicating damage to crops or livestock because of the heatwave currently affecting the Kingdom. 

Technical teams working in the directorate did not observe any damage to the crops, especially since the heatwave did not last for so long and came at the end of the season, Shihab told Petra, adding that weather conditions in Jordan Valley area were natural on Tuesday.