Saudi Arabia is a desert kingdom. It has been like that for at least the past 5,000 years – according to Dr. Farouk El-Baz, director of the Center for Remote Sensing in Boston University.

But this year, the country has been experiencing some peculiar changes in the weather. This started back in September. During the hajj season, which is the Muslim annual pilgrimage to the holiest sites of Islam, severe rainfall and floods had disastrous effects on the unprepared country.

The floods in the city of Jeddah, one of the biggest cities of Saudi Arabia, led to the death of about 130 people. Two bridges collapsed and many cars were swept away, their drivers drowning along. The rainfall in just four hours was almost twice what the country usually gets in a whole year.

Now, there is more fear as heavy rainfall hits Mecca, the holiest site for Muslims. This comes at a time of the year when Mecca is popular with visitors due to spring vacations. While the rain has not caused floods as of yet, it is still very unusual for the kingdom at this time of the year.

This is all the more interesting when you keep in mind that Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest climate change deniers in the world. I wonder if this freak weather will change minds there.