Holidaymakers in the northern city of Meshkinshahr in Ardabil Province and Kelardasht in Mazandaran Province were caught unawares by an unusual and rare phenomenon on Saturday: summer snowfall.
Reports indicate a sudden drop in temperature in Meshkinshahr, where unsuspecting tourists were forced to don warm clothing and build campfires to keep warm, IRNA reported.
Meshkinshahr and Kelardasht draw tourists in large numbers in the summer, mainly from Tehran, especially during the scorching summer months due to their cool and pleasant climate and picturesque natural habitats. However, summer snowfall is a rare phenomenon in both cities.
The two cities and other regions in the northern regions were overcrowded on the occasion of the two-day Eid-al-Fitr public holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Reports Sunday said the weatherman forecast a drop in temperatures across the country. Temperatures in Tehran, were the mercury has jumped as high as 37 degrees Celsius in recent days, are forecast to drop as low as 21°.
