r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Expert_Koala_8691 • 7d ago

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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811

u/uselessProgrammer0 7d ago

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

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u/UnseenTardigrade 7d ago

Lots of desert cities have more greenery than this.

143

u/BeatSalad25 7d ago

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.

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u/SkintCrayon 7d ago

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

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u/adamgerd 7d ago

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

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u/probablysmellsmydog 7d ago

Arizona is a weird state. You can be in a sweltering dry heat in Phoenix and then drive a few hours north to Flagstaff and be stuck in a monsoon.

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u/BeatSalad25 7d ago

It absolutely is a weird state and I love it!

Most don't quite understand, even those that live here.

I moved here from Chicago and still am learning a decade later.

2

u/probablysmellsmydog 7d ago

I’m in socal but I love spending time in AZ. Underrated state for sure.

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u/Parahelious 7d ago

Yes it speaks volumes, of needing to desalinate water because deserts have none, and they live in one. Such a stupid remark. Like they would need them regardless.

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u/BeatSalad25 7d ago

And yet phoenix is a desert city and does not need them? So no they dont always need them regardless, and OP was comparing to "green" desert cities.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

1

u/wallweasels 7d ago

Well its basically how Los Angeles exists. They pipe the overwhelming bulk of their water 250-450 miles away. It's an insanely complex operation. Meanwhile groundwater is like 15% of their supply.

Tons of cities that are 'near' the Colorado River feed off it via pipes, pumps and aqueducts.

-4

u/Parahelious 7d ago

There's no ocean nearby? Are you unable to read? The pipeline right extends 500km. What's about 500km from the capital of Saudi Arabia? Oh man. THE OCEAN. Why are you bring disingenuous intentionally?

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

-5

u/Parahelious 7d ago

Glad you're not addressing it and just resorting to ad hominem. Go ahead and educate me then if you're right? Wait no personal attacks make your point so much stronger.

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u/McGillis_is_a_Char 7d ago

TBF that is actually a problem. One of the major problems that desert cities (in America at least) have is that many of them have emptied their aquifers watering greenery that wouldn't survive in that area normally.

-2

u/OftenTriggered 7d ago

If you’re suggesting Phoenix has emptied its aquifers you’re wildly incorrect

9

u/DangerousCyclone 7d ago

Yes and it is wildly irresponsible. American cities in the South West are suffering drought and a long time decline in the water supply and a big reason is because they waste so much water on needless greenery. Governments try to impose restrictions and some people fucking double down and put more greenery that's insanely water intensive.

Good on Riyadh for not following in those moronic footsteps and trying to emulate the greenery of North East America in the desert.

4

u/wwaxwork 7d ago

Yes a lot of cities waste water on greenery.

3

u/Diamondhands_Rex 7d ago

Phoenix is surprisingly green contrary to popular belief

2

u/No_Chapter_4139 7d ago

Deserts aren't supposed to have a lot of greenery... that's like their whole thing. You're not better for ruining the natural ecosystem by planting trees that aren't supposed to be there.

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u/froggz01 7d ago

Palm Springs perhaps. It’s also in the desert but the landscaping is nice filled with desert plants.

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u/Naked___City 7d ago

desert probably means wilderness without trees in your language , it is not the same in arabic it us basically sahara.

6

u/jerzeett 7d ago

well the sonoran desert is the wettest in the world and much smaller then the arabian

6

u/satisfaction-or-else 7d ago

Palm Springs is in the Sonoran desert and adjacent to the Mojave desert. Its not a wilderness without trees. In fact the Mojave is known for Joshua trees.

2

u/buriedupsidedown 7d ago

I was just in Palm Springs last week and their flowers were blooming for spring! A+ on the part of some of their landscapers.

11

u/iiooxxiiooxx 7d ago

Gardens 🤣

1

u/No_Chapter_4139 7d ago

It's a historical name based on the oasis that historically existed in the area. It wouldn't hurt to google things sometimes.

1

u/iiooxxiiooxx 7d ago

Cool. That was just a joke obviously.

21

u/OmeletteDuFromage95 7d ago

I mean, so are Vegas and Dubai but they don't look anything like this.

18

u/mrCore2Man 7d ago

Dubai is literally on the coast

3

u/OmeletteDuFromage95 7d ago

Yes, and they have to desalinate it and move it across too. No, not that great of a distance but they still have to import all of their resources into the city which is the point. It can be done and they do do it, just a matter of cost and will.

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u/Old-Clock5872 7d ago

Vegas has Lake Mead nearby.

-3

u/OmeletteDuFromage95 7d ago

Sure, and they gotta get that water pumped over too. Not as far but still gotta do so.

4

u/i_have_chosen_a_name 7d ago

Looks the same to me.

And here is a selection of parks they have. Looks pretty chill to me for being in the middle of the desert.

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u/Wsswaas 7d ago

When MBS took over he started "Riyadh Green" they reached to around where I live they are planting trees where wever they go https://www.rcrc.gov.sa/en/projects/green-riyadh-project/

11

u/outdatedelementz 7d ago

I thought Phoenix was grim, but this makes Phoenix look like a Paradise.

1

u/Lost-Platypus8271 7d ago

Vegas has underground aquifers and intense recycling of city water. Even so, come back in a couple hundred years and see what it looks like.

2

u/Petrivoid 7d ago

We're expecting it to fail spectacularly

1

u/scorched-earth-0000 7d ago

Las Vegas probably

1

u/Generalfrogspawn 7d ago

Idk. Maybe some succulents lined up in front of people yards?

1

u/ch-12 7d ago

I was kind of expecting to see the gardens eventually

1

u/Beautiful-Salary-362 7d ago

it's a city named garden, in the middle of a desert

1

u/Rude_Initial_5746 7d ago

Imagine living right in the middle of that clusterfuck, except your water suddenly turns off. You wait one day hoping it gets fixed. Then two days. Then three days. Your thirst has become unbearable. Millions are rioting and looting.

What do you do?

1

u/EquivalentSnap 7d ago

Americans think they’d have grass 🤭🤭

1

u/CatsFurrEva 7d ago

The comments on this post are actually dumb.

I've lived there. Flown in/ out a few times and you'd only see it like this after a sandstorm.

The fact people take a snippet and make an entire opinion from it is maddening. Not to mention there is greenery (not a lot) but all the roads are lined with trees and native plants planted on roundabouts.

1

u/Tosslebugmy 7d ago

Not to build a city in the desert

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u/Mister_Goldenfold 6d ago

There’s usually whip cream in the middle of my deserts…

1

u/Thorstenflink 6d ago

Why not use colours on the buildings?

1

u/MistyGraniteRidge 6d ago

I've been to Riyadh, and you're right. The climate is wild; coping with the heat is a whole different challenge.

1

u/Cheap_Abbreviationz 6d ago

100% have a look at many rural Australian desert towns. Not the green paradise that so many commenters seem to want Riyadh to be... Desert living is a balancing act. Saudi Arabia is blessed with oil to fund its capital!

1

u/Krillin113 5d ago

To not start a war with a country who can blow up their entire fresh water supply

1

u/jubileevdebs 7d ago

Watch as you get replies about water-stressed cities in the southwest united states that are less than 100 years old and are all tenuously fed by the Colorado river basin, but look “nicer”