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Khamsin, khamseen, chamsin or hamsin (Egyptian Arabic: خمسين khamsīn, "fifty"), refers to a dry, hot and dusty local wind blowing in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Similar winds in the area are sirocco and simoom.

Khamsin can be triggered by depressions that move eastwards along the southern parts of the Mediterranean or along the North African coast from February to June.

In Egypt, khamsin usually arrives in April but occasionally occur in March and May, carrying great quantities of sand and dust from the deserts, with a speed up to 140 kilometers per hour, and a rise of temperatures as much as 20°C in two hours. It is believed to blow "at intervals for about 50 days" although it rarely occurs "more than once a week and last for just a few hours at a time."

(wik.)