Middle East DVEP - Armed Forces Pest Management Board

. Climate. Qatar is hot and humid during summer (May to October) and mild inwinter (December to March). The summer temperatures occasionally reach an extremehigh of 48 o C and an extreme low of 17 o C. Winters are mild and produce temperatures thatoccasionally reach a high of 32 o C and a low of 6 o C. Humidity is oppressive along thecoast, and rainfall throughout the country is extremely light. The shamal, a constant,rather strong prevailing wind, comes from the north during all but the late summer months.Frequent sand and dust storms occur from March through August.________________________________________________________________________Doha (elevation 10 m)Mean Daily Temperatures ( o C)MONTH J F M A M J J A S O N DMaximum 21 22 26 31 37 40 40 40 37 34 29 23Minimum 14 15 18 22 27 29 30 31 29 25 21 16Monthly PrecipitationMean (mm) 8 18 13 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 18______________________________________________________________________________________c. Population and Culture. Seventy-seven percent of Qatar’s population lives in thecapital city of Doha. Expatriate workers, most of whom are from other developingcountries, make up approximately 80% of Qatar’s population. Ethnically, the populationis 40% Arab, 18% Indian, 18% Pakistani, 10% Iranian and 14% of other (unspecified)descent. Total population 697,000; 91% urbanized; literacy rate 79%.d. Water, Living and Sanitary Conditions. For wealthier urban residents, livingconditions compare favorably to those in most Western cities. Municipal water fromdesalination plants is treated; however, contamination likely occurs during distributionbecause of poor system integrity and back-siphoning. Municipal sewage treatmentsystems service about 50% of the urban population. Food handling practices are poor.Although refuse in wealthier sections of cities is collected on a regular basis,indiscriminate littering and waste disposal occur. Dwellings in rural areas and peri-urbanareas surrounding cities essentially lack municipal refuse collection services. Thecontaminated water, leaks and spillage from the public water distribution system, togetherwith indiscriminate waste disposal, attract and support rodents, disease vectors and pests.Even though the wealthy seem not to be at risk, mosquitoes, filth flies, rodents, and otherpests remain a threat to poorer people and any visiting military personnel.K. Saudi Arabia.a. Geography. Saudi Arabia is the twelfth largest country in the world, slightly lessthan one-fourth the size of the US, with a land area of approximately 2 million sq km. Itcan be divided into five physiographic areas: (1) The narrow coastal zone paralleling theRed Sea rises sharply inland to form the rugged western highland mountains. The highestpeaks, occurring south of Mecca near the border with Yemen, are approximately 2,700 to3,100 m above sea level. (2) The highland mountains slope eastward to an extensive,55