Sandstorm halts Kuwait; UAE dusty, overcast

Kuwait closed its airport and halted oil exports after sever sand storm hit the emirate a couple of hours ago, officials said.

The sand storm started couple of hours ago and caused zero visibility, especially in the open areas.

Meanwhile, since morning dusty and cloudy conditons have prevailed in the UAE with small burst of swirling sand from time to time. Visibility has been limited. After last month's huge sandstorm in Kuwait, the UAE had witnessed unsettled weather.

On March 25, a similar sand storm blow across the Gulf region and led to closure of the airports and delays in flights. The storm also affected air traffic in the UAE.

According to officials, the flights will resume shortly when the sky gets clear.

A spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said oil exports were stopped and would resume when weather conditions improve.

"We have stopped crude exports at terminals and also receiving vessels. This however will not impact commitments to clients," Mohammad Al Ajmi said.

Winds of up to 45 kilometres an hour (28 mph) reduced visibility to less than 150 metres (yards) at Kuwait airport and much less in the open desert.

Opec's fourth-largest producer pumps around 2.3 million barrels of crude oil daily through KNPC export facilities in oil-rich southern Kuwait.

Issam Al Zamel, head of operations at the civil aviation authority, told the official Kuna news agency that flights that were scheduled to land at Kuwait International Airport were being diverted to neighbouring Gulf countries.

Departing flights were halted until weather conditions improve, said Zamel.

Kuwait has had little rainfall for the fourth winter in a row, making the desert sand loose and easily carried aloft by strong winds.

Dust storms are rare in winter but common in summer when the temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

(With inputs from AFP)

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