Middle East DVEP - Armed Forces Pest Management Board

highlands (445 m elevation) are similar to those at Muscat. During the winter (Novemberto February), temperatures are similar along the Musandum Peninsula and the entire coast,with extremes of 40 o C and 8 o C. Temperature extremes in the Dhofar highlands are 38 o Cand 2 o C. Annual precipitation is 250 mm in the Hajar Mountains, 106 mm at Muscat, 38mm at Masirah Island, and 96 mm in Dhofar, which has its own monsoon season thatpeaks during July and August.________________________________________________________________________Muscat (elevation 15 m)Mean Daily Temperatures ( o C)MONTH J F M A M J J A S O N DMaximum 25 25 28 33 38 39 37 35 35 33 29 26Minimum 18 19 22 27 31 32 31 29 28 26 22 19Monthly PrecipitationMean (mm) 28 18 10 10 3 3 3 3 0 3 10 18______________________________________________________________________________________c. Population and Culture. Omanis are overwhelmingly rural and largely illiterate.One-third of the population lives on the al-Batinah coastal plain, and nearly half live insmall interior villages. Approximately 5% of the people are nomads. Prejudice againstWesterners persists throughout the country. The population comprises Arabs, SouthAsians and Baluskis (no proportions specified) and is 75% Ibadi Muslim and 25% otherMuslims and Hindus. Total population 2.4 million; 12% urbanized; literacy rate 80%.d. Water, Living and Sanitary Conditions. Living and sanitary conditions arebelow those in the West. Sanitation in urban and rural areas remains poor because ofwater shortages, lack of facilities, and indiscriminate waste disposal practices. Piped waterin Oman frequently is contaminated during distribution because of low water pressure,back-siphonage, and cross-connections. Throughout the country, there are few modernmunicipal sewage systems. Deep pit latrines and septic tanks are used in some rural areas,and limited sewage disposal systems exist in Muscat. Newer dwellings in Oman are madeof concrete; traditional housing is constructed of thick-walled stone, mud, or barastis(sticks and cane from date palms). Housing shortages exist in coastal urban areas.Inhabitants of the Musandam Peninsula live in tiny rock huts in the hills. NomadicBedouins live in tents or shacks constructed of plywood and corrugated tin. These livingconditions make it easy for vectors and pests of any sort to readily find food, water andharborage, therby facilitating maintenance and transmission of several endemic diseasesthat are of military importance.J. Qatar.a. Geography. Qatar has a land area of 11,000 sq km, is slightly smaller thanConnecticut, and includes a number of islands in the Persian Gulf. The peninsula’s terrainis flat, barren, stony, and sandy. Rising from the east, a low plateau, pitted with scores ofshallow depressions, extends to northern and central Qatar. Extensive salt flats cover thesoutheastern base of the peninsula.54