ArabiaWeather.com - Sinan Khalaf - In late February of the year 1991 AD, the largest oil disaster known to mankind occurred, when 727 oil wells were blown up in the lands of Kuwait, igniting huge fires that produced dense black clouds saturated with toxic gases, with which the sun disappeared from the day Kuwait land for a period of time exceeding 8 months.
It's not midnight.. It's Kuwait at 12 noon on one of the days of the year 1991 AD
These dense smoke clouds, with their continuous blocking of the sun's rays, caused a decrease in the temperature by 4 degrees Celsius, in a circumference of approximately 1,000 km around the lands of Kuwait, causing extremely extreme weather conditions in our Arab region and the world.
Black rain in the Gulf and the Levant:
In a rare event not known to the Gulf states, black rains fell for the first time in the winter of 1991 AD, as a result of hundreds of tons of fine particles rising as a result of fires joining condensation nuclei in the atmosphere, in addition to the interaction of toxic gases such as “carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and oxides.” Nitrogen" with water vapor, to form black rain of high acidity, very harmful to the environment, which directly destroyed soil and agricultural crops and polluted both surface and groundwater sources.
A picture taken by "NASA" shows the extension of smoke clouds from Kuwait towards eastern Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the Emirates and the Empty Quarter
An eyewitness from Riyadh:
Here, Khaled Al-Qahtani, a resident of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, recalls those difficult days, saying: In those days, we smelled nothing but the smell of fires and saw nothing on the horizon except thick fumes coming from Kuwait. As for the rains of that year, they were not at all like the previous years, as the clouds were heavy The blackness is like a dark night without the moonlight. As for the rain, it was more intense than usual. The color of its droplets was dominated by blackness. I noticed this clearly on cars, on house paint, and even on our white clothes.
A picture taken in 1991 AD showing the effects left by the black rain on a house in Kuwait
Testimony of black snow in Jordan:
Jordanian citizen Alaa Harzallah confirmed in his interview with "Arab Weather" that the heavy snow that fell on the kingdom in the winter of 1991-1992 was contaminated with the smoke of fires. From the accumulated snow and heating it with the aim of obtaining water, but everyone was surprised when the snow turned into black water!
100 thousand dead in Bangladesh and black snow on the slopes of the Himalayas
The clouds of smoke and the resulting extremes of temperature were; A major cause of devastating hurricanes and floods, which left more than 100,000 people dead in Bangladesh alone in early May 1991.
Polluted "black snow" also fell on the slopes of the Himalayas, while "black rain" was not limited to the countries of the region only. Clouds of visible smoke resulting from the fires were also monitored in Turkey and Greece 2,000 km from Kuwait, to reach India, China and some regions of the Union. Soviet.
Dr. Al-Misnad: Spring temperatures in the middle of summer!
Dr. Abdullah Al-Misnad, associate professor at the Department of Geography at Qassim University, described what the region was exposed to during the year 1991 AD as the largest and most extensive oil pollution on land, sea and air known to humanity, indicating that the fires that broke out in Kuwait and the resulting black clouds made Kuwait live Spring weather in the summer! Where studies have shown that the temperature has decreased by 4 degrees Celsius in the general rate, while the daily is of course more.
Hassan Abdullah: Kuwait has recorded temperatures that have not been recorded before!
The meteorological forecaster, "Hassan Abdullah," indicated that Kuwait witnessed, on some days of August of the year 1991, temperatures in the thirty degrees, which were not previously recorded, except in the spring and autumn seasons! Pointing out that the average temperature for the month of August is 47 degrees Celsius, attributing this extreme temperature extreme to the thickness of the smoke clouds that covered Kuwait and blocked the sun's rays from it.
Even the animals were not spared from this disaster!
Tens or even hundreds of domestic animals died, suffocating from poisonous gases, others that drank oil-contaminated water, and birds covered in liquid black tar. Their movement failed and their lives were destroyed, bringing the number of dead birds at that time to more than 30,000 birds.
A picture of a bird struggling to extricate itself from an oil puddle
As for the fish wealth, it was the most harmful, as the huge oil spills leaking into the waters of the Arabian Gulf caused the death of thousands of tons of fish, and the fish stocks in the Gulf waters decreased clearly in the years 1992 and 1993.
Part of the oil spill that ignited the waters of the Gulf in 1991
Destructive effects on soil and plant life
The oil leakage from the destroyed wells caused the formation of 246 oil lakes that covered an area of about 50 square kilometers, with an estimated amount of oil of about 24 million barrels. These lakes formed a barrier between the soil grains and their organisms such as plants, animals and insects, which caused a complete imbalance in the ecosystem. The oil had a direct toxic effect on plants and animals, and the oil lakes formed a buffer that prevents gaseous exchange between plants and the air.
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