Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — The recent weather observations and analytical reports indicate that the eruption of volcanic ash from Ethiopia’s Haile Gobi volcano won’t have any direct impact on the atmosphere of Saudi Arabia, according to the National Center for Meteorology (NCM).

Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman of NCM, said that the center is monitoring cloud movement and weather phenomena around the clock using advanced national systems. “The current indicators do not show any path of volcanic ash towards the Kingdom's atmosphere. Monitoring of weather conditions is ongoing, with data being tracked and updated continuously,” he said.

Al-Qahtani said that necessary measures will be taken in the event of an impactful weather phenomenon, and that the center will continue to issue alerts or updates as the situation warrants.

The eruption of the Haile Gobi volcano began on Sunday morning. The volcano is located in Ethiopia’s Afar region within the Great Rift Valley, and had remained dormant for thousands of years. Satellite imagery showed a dense ash column rising more than 10km into the sky, visible across regional monitoring platforms.