A video attributed to Saudi Arabia is going viral on social media, showing snow-covered camels in sandy and dry Saudi Arabia.
According to Al-Arabiya English, this video was filmed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it snows every year. Currently, there is no snow in Tabuk, but the viral video is 2 years old.
On February 26, a verified Twitter account shared a video falsely claiming that ‘Global Warming Strikes Again, Snowfalls in Saudi Arabia for the First Time in 100 Years’.
After the video surfaced on social media, Community Note investigated the authenticity of the video, after which it was declared a fake.
Global Warming strikes again, first snow in Saudi Arabia in 100 years. pic.twitter.com/q89w03fPej
— @amuse (@amuse) February 26, 2023
In fact, snow is common in the northern regions of Saudi Arabia. The country’s official travel guide website ‘Visit Saudi’ offers a variety of snow experiences including walking, camel riding, sliding and camping during the winter.
According to the AFP news agency, Fahad Nazir, the spokesperson of the Saudi Embassy in the United States, said regarding this video that went viral online in 2021, “Climate change cannot be denied, but there is no snowfall in Tabuk, the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia. It is not such a rare event.”
In December 2022, snowfall over the mountains of Tabuk blanketed the area completely and temperatures dropped drastically overnight.
