Heart-warming tales from Riyadh in freezing temperatures

JEDDAH: A picture from a school in Riyadh has been widely circulated on social media. The photograph shows fur and wool jackets hung inside a clothes closet at a girls’ school. Beside the closet is a note from the school principal, Manal Al-Qahtani, which reads: “Dear daughter ... May God bless and protect you. You can use whatever jacket you wish when feeling cold. You also can keep it if you like it.”

Khalid Al-Zahrani, a student counseling supervisor at the Taif Educational Department, told Arab News that Al-Qahtani had set an example of how teachers should treat their students in such difficult weather conditions.

“That principal and her school team members were as affectionate as mothers. They treated their students in such tough conditions as if they were their own blood, and that is really warm,” Al-Zahrani said.

Another video on social media platforms shows a woman offering a winter garment to a street cleaner instead of giving him money.

The woman may have thought that the man would benefit much more from the jacket. The location of the video is neither identified nor mentioned in the commentary (https://youtu.be/ io43RS_TqlI).

In the northwestern region, Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan of Tabuk has issued directives to schools in the region to start the day at 8:30 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m.

The decision, effective from Wednesday, came as a result of the cold wave of weather in the region.

Ibrahim Al-Omari, director general of the Tabuk Education Department, said that morning assembly would be excluded from the daily school program.

He added that the decision included schools in Al-Wajh and Omloj provinces.

According to weather reports the temperature in Tabuk, which was 5° Celsius on Thursday, is expected to reach 0° Celsius and below, in two weeks.

In Riyadh, where the minimum temperature is 10° Celsius, the education department has reminded principals to exercise their judgment to skip the morning lineup program because of the cold weather.

This also applies to the northern regions of Al-Jouf, Hail and the Northern Borders.

In Hail, where the temperature is currently as low as 4° Celsius, last Friday a man documented rainwater found frozen in a container, a scene that residents of a usually dry climate rarely experience.