ABSTRACT
Sandstorms are one of the most unpleasant features of desert life. I have known some really bad ones during my twenty-four years’ experience of the Euphrates, the Iraq Southern Desert, Bahrain, Hasa and the Kuwait hinterland. Kuwait in particular seems a prey to sandstorms, and during the summer they come straight down from the Euphrates valley, and sometimes last for days and nights at a time. There is a saying in Kuwait that a sandstorm will last for either three, seven or fourteen days. Nothing is so grim as a sandstorm in Kuwait town during midsummer, when the shade temperature is anything up to 120° F. The burning fiery wind seems to scorch the very eyeballs. Everything has to be kept hermetically sealed up, doors, windows, cupboards, food, etc., and it is quite impossible to cool the house by opening doors and windows when night falls. The only comforting reflection is that it is ten times worse outside. Nevertheless, when it is time to turn in at night, it is quite impossible to sleep indoors, even with the recently introduced electric fan. Throughout the night there is the untold misery of dust and grit blowing into eyes and ears, nostrils and mouth, and banishing rest and sleep.
