Qatar Chamber’s Contracting Committee held a meeting presided over by Mohamed Sultan al-Jaber, in the presence of Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al Thani. Members of the committee and a number of employers of contracting companies attended the meeting. Speaking at the event, Sheikh Khalifa said the chamber is exerting “every possible effort” to combat all the challenges contractors are facing. The chamber will enhance collaboration with concerned bodies to strengthen the sector’s role in the development process, he also said.

Weather inshore until 6:00 pm on Tuesday will be partly cloudy to cloudy with moderate to heavy rain, thundery at times, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather report, warning of thundery rain associated with strong wind and poor visibility.Offshore, it will be partly cloudy to cloudy with scattered rain, thundery at times, the report added, warning of thundery rain associated with strong wind and high sea and poor visibility.Wind inshore will be mainly northeasterly - northwesterly 18 - 28 KT, gusting to 45 KT at places at times with thundery rain.Offshore, it will be mainly northeasterly - northwesterly 20 - 30 KT, gusting to 50 KT with thundery rain.Visibility inshore will be 4 - 8 km/2 km or less with thundery rain. Offshore, it will be 4 - 8 km/1 km or less with thundery rain.Sea state inshore will be 2 - 5 ft, while offshore, it will be 10 - 6 ft, rises to 14 ft with thundery rain.

Most parts of Qatar experienced moderate to heavy rains while heavy winds blew all across the country right from early morning on Wednesday)During the day, various areas in Doha received scattered to moderate rain and by evening, thunder and lightning came along too.According to Qatar Meteorology Department, “sudden strong winds are currently affecting the country due to low air pressure as weather conditions turn cloudy, and thunderstorms, with moderate to heavy intensity.”The Meteorology Department has forecast that the thundery rains will continue until today (Thursday) afternoon. There is also a warning of hailstones falling at times accompanied by strong winds that may cause dust to rise in some areas.Right from morning yesterday, the northern region experienced heavy rains while some of the western areas also received scattered rains. Thundery rain was observed in northern areas such as Shamal and Ruwais along with strong winds. By afternoon several eastern areas of the country too witnessed scattered to thundery rains .Most parts of the country experienced scattered to moderate rain all through the day which continued overnight. In addition, most parts of Qatar experienced strong winds. However, most parts of Doha had only scatted rains during the day and the traffic was normal.Some schools declared holiday for students yesterday as a precaution. The Met has urged everyone to be cautious and follow safety guidelines during thunderstorms. It also encouraged everyone to obtain updates only from official sources.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) issued several reminders on social media about driving during adverse weather conditions. MoI has advised drivers not to overtake, reduce speed, use brakes gradually to slow down, avoid using hazard lights, to keep a safe distance with other vehicles to avoid collisions, and not to venture into water puddles.