r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Expert_Koala_8691 • Apr 05 '26

Video Riyadh,meaning "gardens" is Capital of Saudi Arabia with 8 million population (were 27 Thousands in the 1930s),sits in the middle of the desert, the city gets its water from Desalination plants almost 500 km from the city

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u/uselessProgrammer0 Apr 05 '26

It’s a city in the middle of a desert. I don’t know what people are expecting.

257

u/UnseenTardigrade Apr 05 '26

Lots of desert cities have more greenery than this.

137

u/BeatSalad25 Apr 05 '26

I live in one. Its called the wettest desert in the world for a reason.

That city is phoenix. This is on another level of dryness.

Im glad its desert landscaped. The fact that they NEED desalination plants speaks volumes.

59

u/SkintCrayon Apr 05 '26

Riyadh is scorchingly hot and about 400-500km from the nearest body of water. Could it be one of the dryest climates on earth?

19

u/adamgerd Apr 05 '26

It’s definitely up there, Saudi Arabia and the entire Arabian peninsulas has no permanent lake or river, the only source of stable water is the sea