Climate Classification in Saudi Arabia using Open Source Data

Abstract

The study aimed to discern a climatic classification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by relying on openly sourced visual data of climatic elements, specifically leveraging temperature and rainfall data to apply the De Martonne aridity index. Employing an inductive theoretical approach, coupled with statistical and cartographic methodologies, the study anchored its data sources in two types: firstly, open-source data available on the internet, and secondly, data from meteorological stations within the Kingdom, encompassing twelve stations chosen based on their comprehensive distribution across the study area and their representation of all geographical variables. The study concluded that, according to the De Martonne classification, the climate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is segmented into three climatic realms: arid, semi-arid, and relatively humid climates. On a monthly scale, the months of March and April revealed four climatic realms: arid, semi-arid, relatively humid, and humid climates. the study unveiled a statistically significant correlation at a 0.01 confidence level between the De Martonne classification of open-source data and meteorological data in the Kingdom, revealing a direct relationship wherein the elevation of the De Martonne index values from meteorological observations concomitantly increased the extracted index values from open-source visual data and vice versa.