Despite frequent reports of heavy rains in several parts of the Sultanate of Oman, leading to flash floods, overall the year 2022 has been the driest for the country with inadequate rainfall.
The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) in its annual report said that there has been a substantial drop in the quantity of rainfall (MM) received in 2022.
On average, the country received only 30.6 mm of rainfall in 2022, compared to 105.8 mm in 2021, 103 mm in 2020, 94.3 mm in 2019, 80.8 mm in 2018, 74.7 mm in 2017, 95.3 mm in 2016, 69.4 mm in 2015, 89.5 mm in 2014 and 139.2 mm in 2013.
It also mentioned that July was the wettest month in 2022 with 48.2 mm followed by January (17.7 mm) and August (8.6 mm). The Muscat Ground Station (airport) recorded the least amount of rainfall in the country, while Dhofar received most of its rainfall in the months of July and August. Al Sharqiyah North Governorate received rainfall for most of the months except for February, March, April, and May in 2022.
According to experts, while the overall amount of rainfall dropped considerably in the GCC region, some places including those in the Sultanate of Oman were subject to heavy rains leading to flash floods due to tropical low pressure systems and air troughs.
FLOODS FROM WADIS
Even though not blessed with regular rains, like in neighbouring cities, nearly 45 per cent of the areas in Muscat are vulnerable to floods from wadis, while another 20 per cent are subject to coastal floods, as per a Greater Muscat masterplan report.
The masterplan called for the need to identify areas of strategic high risk and take precautions to counter worst-case scenarios for the local population such as easy access to hospitals and facilitating localised safety areas with easy access.
The statistics are important as the National Strategy for Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change for the Sultanate of Oman (2020-2040) of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had called on urban planners in Oman to consider the impact of heavy rainfall that usually follows the low-pressure systems developed in the sea, especially the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, artificial rain stations have been established in the country to increase the level of groundwater.
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