What is Khamsin?

Khamsin is an Arabic word which is used to refer the hot, dry southerly wind observed in Egypt, corresponding to the Sirocco of North Africa. According to the Arabs, it blows during a period fifty days, from April to June, the name Khamsin being the Arabic word for fifty.

It blows ahead of the depressions that move eastwards along the Mediterranean or across North Africa, and often carries a considerable amount of dust from the interior with it. In the Middle East the name is also applied to the hot, dry wind blowing off the desert.