Watch | Baghdad Receives Snowfall For the First Time In 12 Years, Excited Citizens Share Pictures & Videos
Baghdad: On Tuesday, citizens of Baghdad woke up to see their city carpeted in white for the first time in over a decade– a rare phenomenon which they were experiencing after 12 years! Many young Iraqis exclaimed that it was the first time they had ever seen snow falling in Baghdad and rushed to capture the moment on their smartphones.
The last time, the city had seen snowfall was in 2008, which didn’t last long and was a really short-lived affair. According to local weather reports, it was Baghdad’s first proper snowfall in over a hundred years.
“Snowfall may continue until Wednesday given the very cold weather. This cold wave came from Europe,” Amer al-Jaberi, media head of the Iraqi Meteorological Centre told AFP news agency.
Annual snowfall is common in the mountainous northern region of Iraq, but very rare in Baghdad. Many excited Iraqis took to social media to share pictures and videos of the snowfall, while children were seen playing and enjoying the sight.
Here are some videos:
Omg #Baghdad is snowing , sooo excited to see snow it’s beautiful, it’s first time ever happens . pic.twitter.com/OP64ztJOJU
— Ammar karim (@ammar_afp) February 11, 2020
Snow moment in #Baghdad I guess this the first time Baghdad got snow on it ! #Baghdadsnow #snow pic.twitter.com/1gI8uDC52h
— Mustafa مصطفى ???????? (@msiq88) February 11, 2020
Snow on palm trees really is something. #Baghdad https://t.co/XLPfUqSq1f
— Ruba Ali Al-Hassani (@RubaAlHassani) February 11, 2020
Here are some pictures:
عراق ، بغداد میں کئی عشروں کے بعد برف باریhttps://t.co/2vByy8S0NZ#Iraq #Baghdad #Snowfall #Winters #WeatherUpdates #ColdWeather pic.twitter.com/W6vPNoPpkt
— Daily Nawa-i-Waqt (@Nawaiwaqt_) February 12, 2020
Snow in Baghdad today, the first time in a very long time ❄️ pic.twitter.com/exaSsejBlj
— Hanan (@hananjx) February 11, 2020
Snow-covered palm trees are a sight to see ???? pic.twitter.com/WmRFbVJQmD
— Hassan Hadad (@Abufellah) February 11, 2020
#Baghdad morning for today
A wave of snowfall on the Iraqi capital transformed the morning of Baghdad into Al-Abyad (some pictures show the setting up of salaries and some moments during the snowfall)
February 11, 2020
Photography by me / Khalid Tawfeeq Hadi pic.twitter.com/Cw0YP7iy7M— خالد توفيق هادي (@khalid_th8) February 12, 2020
“I woke up at dawn, and I was surprised to see the snow covering the whole garden and my car, then I woke up my wife and two children who dashed to see the incredible view,” Rawad Hassan, 35, told the Xinhua News Agency.
Another 60-year-old Hassan Zahar told Reuters, “It is the first time we’ve seen snow in Baghdad. We’ve seen sleet before, but never snow. I looked at the faces of all the people, they were astonished,” he said. “A few minutes ago, I was covered with snowflakes. In my hair, on my shoulders. I invite all the people to enjoy peace because the snow means peace.”