Syria's capital was lashed by a snowstorm which disrupted traffic today but brought some relief from a drought which has gripped the country for the past four years.

Mount Qassioun, on the edge of Damascus, was covered in a light blanket of snow while other parts of Syria were buffeted by heavy winds, which began on Friday and have been sent temperatures plunging.

The port of Tartous was shut on Friday and Saturday due to the winds, which also brought trees and branches crashing down in northwest Syria.

The country had for months being baking in unseasonably high temperatures, and has suffered four consecutive droughts since 2006.

Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said in September that the drought had affected around 1.3 million people, 800,000 of them severely.

In June, the World Food Programme started delivering food aid to 200,000 people in the second such initiative since the United Nations launched a plan last year to combat the effects of the drought in Syria.

A severe storm, including rain and a sand storm, was also reported around Cairo, Egypt.