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The varied geography
of Oman has resulted in a wide variety of climatic conditions.
Although lying in the tropics, the Sultanate is subject to seasonal
changes like the more temperate regions of the world.
During the winter it is cool and
pleasant, but summer on the coast is hot and humid. The interior
remains hot and dry, except for the mountains where temperatures can
drop drastically at night.
The hottest months are June through August but on the southern coast
of Dhofar the monsoons bring light but persistent rain, resulting in
a cool and misty summer. Rainfall varies but in general remains
sparse and irregular. In the south, most of the year's rainfall
occurs during the summer monsoon months. In the north, the opposite
occurs.
Here most rain comes from occasional winter storms which descend out
of the eastern Mediterranean during the months of January through
March, depositing an annual average of 10 cm of rain on the capital
area.
The climate is best from late September to
early April. Rainfall varies according to the region. During the
period June to September there is light rain in the Dhofar region
with heavy fog across the hills.
Here most rain comes from occasional winter storms which descend out
of the eastern Mediterranean during the months of January through
March, depositing an annual average of 10 cm of rain on the capital
area.
Required Clothing
Lightweight cottons are advisable throughout the year, with a warm
wrap for cooler winter evenings, mountain excursions and overworked
air-conditioning in shops and restaurants. |
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Most of Oman is desert, yet the history books rarely recall this unimportant
two-thirds of the country. Unimportant, that is, until a quarter of a century
ago, when suddenly the arrival of the oil companies made the deserts of
paramount interest.
The largest part of Oman's desert, running from the Dhahira in the north, down
through the Jiddat AI Harasis as far south as Dhofar, does not fulfil the
classic idea of a desert at all. It is simply barren land, a vast eige-coloured
gravel plain, devoid both of plants and contours. The bedouin who inhabit this
inhospitable land are few and far between, their camps not marked by the black
tents common in Arabia, but rather consisting of a rough shelter under an acacia
tree.
The climate varies from region to region. In the coastal areas it is hot and
humid in summer. In the Interior it is hot and dry, with the exception of some
higher locations, where it is temperate all year round. In the southern region,
the climate is more benign. The country's rainfall is generally low and
irregular, although heavy local rains are sometimes experienced, with the
exception of the southern region, where heavy monsoon rains regularly occur
between June and September.
Only in the extreme east, in the Wahiba, and along the western boaders with
SaudiArabia, is the landscape enlivened with classic sand dunes. Along the Saudi
border Oman's dunes merge into those of the great sand sea of the Ruba'Al Khali,
the Empty Quarter. There too is the sinister salt marsh of Umm As Samim, the
"mother of poison". These dangerous quicksands were crossed 40 years ago by
Wilfred Thesiger who wrote: "We moved forward a few feet at a time across the
greasy surface. Often our weight broke through the surface crust of salt, and
then we waded through black, clinging mud which stung the scratches on our legs"
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