RIYADH: Areas of the Makkah region covered by vegetation grew by more than 600 percent during the past five months thanks to the rainy season, Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification said. Total rainfall reached 200 millimeters in some places.

Analyses of remote-sensing data revealed the total vegetation cover stood at 3,529.4 square kilometers in August, representing 2.3 percent of the region’s total area. This gradually increased as a result of rainfall to reach 26,256 square kilometers by the end of the year.

By December, up to 17.1 percent of the region was covered by vegetation. It was concentrated in the mountainous areas and highlands parallel to the Red Sea coast, with elevations ranging from 500 to 2,600 meters, in the governorates of Makkah, Taif, Al-Laith, Al-Jammoum, Al-Kamil, and Khalis.

The center said it is studying the status of these areas of vegetation, monitoring changes in afforestation project sites, tracking land-cover changes, calculating volumes of rainfall and vegetation density, and assessing plant health through the use of remote-sensing techniques and artificial intelligence technology, to help achieve the goals of afforestation projects and the Saudi Green Initiative.

The center works to protect vegetation sites in the Kingdom, study the variables that affect green spaces, and develop ways to prepare for drought and mitigate its severity, as part of the initiatives of the National Transformation Program designed to help achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development and diversification agenda. It operates within a framework of national efforts to reduce the effects of desertification and drought, and safeguard land, pastures, forests and national parks.