Stormy Outlook? ...

In light of the recent weather in our usually sunny Salalah, I felt compelled to write about the subject.  Afterall, there's nothing like a huge storm to make you feel utterly insignificant and powerless in the world. The forces of nature truly are awesome (and I mean that in the strictest sense of the word, not the overused American version). Here we are in a desert country, lashed this past week by torrential rainfall and strong winds, thanks to tropical storm Keila.  This isn't the first time Oman has been hit by such weather and it certainly wont be the last.  But are these types of storms just part of normal weather patterns or is there something else going on? All over the world we seem to be seeing more and more crazy weather.  Huge areas of Thailand are currently under water, Italy is flooded, New York saw unseasonal snowfall, Myanmar & Cambodia recently faced floods. The list continues...

With the world population at 7 billion and growing, is it possible someone's trying to tell us something?! Are we the masters of our own destruction?

Recent studies suggest that increasing air pollution in the Indian sub-continent is enhancing the intensity of tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea.  Diesel fumes and biomass burning are blamed for creating 'brown clouds' which disrupt normal air circulation. It is believed that this thick layer of pollution helps create the right atmospheric conditions for the formation of large tropical cyclones.

Of course, there will always be debate about these kinds of claims - and I'm no scientist - but whatever your view, shouldn't we see these kinds of events as a wake-up call? We need to start thinking about how we treat the Earth and start doing our bit to preserve this planet we call home!!

On that note, Eid Mubarak!! and, if you haven't already, be sure to visit Wadi Darbat which has turned into a raging river and giant waterfall! Not something I would ever have imagined witnessing.  Sadly though, the beautiful beach at Khor Ruri has all but disppeared - washed away by a torrent of muddy water.  According to some sources, we're not out of the woods yet either. It looks like another storm may be brewing....