CARE-C Researchers Deliver Specialized Training at the Saudi National Centre for Meteorology

A team of four researchers from the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) of The Cyprus Institute — Prof. Jean Sciare, Dr. Minas Iakovides, Dr. Michael Pikridas, and Dr. Rima Baalbaki — visited the Saudi National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) from April 28 to 30, 2025, to deliver a specialized training program at the NCM’s Regional Centre for Dust and Sand Storm Warning.

The program aimed to enhance the technical capabilities of the Remote Sensing and Atmospheric Observation research team, led by Dr. Alaa Mhawish, with a focus on advanced techniques for measuring atmospheric aerosols. Training sessions covered both real-time in-situ measurement methodologies and filter-based approaches for analyzing the chemical composition and optical properties of particulate matter (PM).

As part of the visit, Professor Sciare presented preliminary findings from ongoing measurements of PM chemical composition at eight monitoring sites across Saudi Arabia. This session, attended by Mr. Jamaan bin Saad Al-Qahtani, Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Dust and Sand Storm Warning, highlighted the critical importance of continuous air quality monitoring to better understand the interplay between human activities and natural dust storms—key insights for shaping effective environmental management strategies.

The CARE-C team also carried out a technical audit of the PM sampling site in Jeddah, evaluating operational procedures and discussing the challenges of air quality monitoring in the Kingdom’s harsh environmental conditions.

Beyond the training activities, the visit served as a platform to further strengthen the ongoing collaboration between CARE-C and NCM. Discussions explored new opportunities for joint research and scientific cooperation aimed at enhancing regional environmental monitoring.