RIYADH: Residents of the Kingdom can look forward to a more comfortable, cooler Ramadan this year, compared with the long hours of fasting in the hot and humid weather of the past decade. The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, with the start of each month determined by the sighting of the new moon. The effect of this is that Ramadan arrives about a week-and-a-half earlier in the Gregorian calendar each year compared with the year before. “The month of Ramadan moves between the four seasons every 33 years because the Hijri calendar is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar,” said Abdulaziz Al-Hussaini, a Saudi weather and climate researcher. “Ramadan this year is expected to have a higher rate of precipitation than normal in most regions, particularly during the first half of Ramadan. In the event of rainfall, the weather typically changes: The weather becomes cold, even during the day, with a cold breeze at night and in the early-morning hours. “Since Ramadan falls in the spring season this year, some of the winter characteristics will be dominating the weather of Ramadan this year.” After several years of marking Ramadan, and fasting, during the long, hot summer days, Saudis are looking forward to the more pleasant weather that is forecast for this year, and they reminisced about the years in which Ramadan fell during the winter. “I always recall fasting during Ramadan in winter; the hours of fasting were short and we barely felt thirsty or hungry as the weather back then made fasting easier,” said Shamma Abdul Aziz, a retired history teacher from Riyadh. Hadi Saud, a chemical engineer from Al Qassim, said: “I was 15 in 1997 and I remember breaking our fast outside, in the backyard, for the whole month. We rarely had our breakfast inside because of how good the weather was — we didn’t want to miss it.” Al-Hussaini pointed out that Ramadan will once again be observed during the winter season “in about seven years from now.” In fact, in 2030 Ramadan will take place twice, according to Khaled Al-Zaaq, a Saudi astronomer. This is a phenomenon that happens every 33 years, and the last time was in 1997. In a message posted on Twitter, Al-Zaaq wrote: “In 2030, Ramadan is expected to begin on Jan. 5, 2030, and the second Ramadan of 2030 is expected to begin on Dec. 26, meaning we will fast 36 days in 2030.” He added: “With Ramadan going around the four seasons every 33 years, in 2028 Ramadan is expected to occur at the height of winter, and in 2044 Ramadan is expected to occur at the height of summer.”