Dammam metropolitan area

Dammam metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Eastern Province
Government
• Province Governor	Saud bin Nayef Al Saud
Population (2012)
• Total	4,140,000
Time zone	AST (UTC+3)
• Summer (DST)	DST not observed (UTC)
Website	www.eamana.gov.sa

The Dammam metropolitan area, or greater Dammam, is the metropolitan area associated with the city of Dammam and its suburbs. It is the area that is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is the largest metropolitan area in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia formed by three main neighboring cities: Dammam, Dhahran, and Khobar. These three cities are sometimes referred to as the triplet cities. The metropolitan area of the triplet cities has an estimated population of 4,140,000 as of 2012. Greater Dammam also includes many other smaller cities such as: Al Qatif, Safwa and Ras Tanura. As a major metropolitan area, it is known for its fishing and pearl diving heritage, oil industry, arts, entertainment, popular music and sports legacies. The area includes a variety of natural landscapes, parks, and beaches with a recreational coastline to the Persian Gulf. Greater Dammam is served by the King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), the largest airport in the world in terms of land area (approximately 780 km²), about 20 km to the northwest of Dammam (the largest of the 3 cities). Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf. Its import-export traffic in the country is second only to Jeddah Seaport.

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company and the most valuable company is based in Greater Dammam as a result of the first oil field discovered in the Kingdom being there.

Prior to the discovery of oil, the area was long known of being an important port and fishing area utilizing the strategic location on the shore of Persian Gulf. Nowadays, one of the largest seaports in the region King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is located in Dammam Area serving the Eastern Province as well as the capital Riyadh which is located far from the sea.

Climate

Dammam
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     22     21 10     6.9     24 11     5.1     29 15     13     34 20     3.3     41 25     0     44 28     0     45 29     0     45 29     0.4     42 25     0.1     37 21     18     29 16     21     23 11 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: World Meteorological Organization (2001-2010)[1]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.9     70 49     0.3     75 53     0.2     84 58     0.5     94 68     0.1     105 77     0     110 82     0     113 85     0     112 84     0     107 78     0     99 70     0.7     84 61     0.8     73 52 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

References

1. "World Weather Information Service - Dammam". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 2014-02-22.