UAE could see up to 3 days of rainfall a week during summer

The UAE will likely witness more peak summer rain over the coming days as we progress into the weekend.

The country may witness two to three days of rainfall every week during summer, even as temperatures hit 50ºC over the last two days.

The national weather forecaster also said summer rains are not uncommon in the UAE as the country experiences monsoon low pressure from India.

Dr Ahmed Habib from the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) told Khaleej Times, "This typically raises temperatures, especially in the eastern parts of the country amid the growing formation of convective cloud that triggers rainfall. So, this rain is not unusual in the summer months."

He added, "But it also depends on various conditions. Usually, in the Al Ain area and the Eastern part of the UAE, we have the mountain. We have a synoptic situation; an extension of the Indian monsoon towards our area is associated with the easterly flow.

"The air becomes humid because of the water vapour from the sea towards the east part of the UAE, leading to condensation. This is the process where water vapour becomes liquid. So, this air gets lifted to the upper layer, especially during the afternoons."

The NCM also issued a weather alert this week, warning of cloudy weather with a probability of rainfall over Al Ain in Abu Dhabi.

The country is expected to be humid over some western coastal areas with a probability of mist during the mornings.

The forecast also states later this week, it's going to be partly cloudy at times, and low clouds appearing eastward might be convective over the mountains by noon.

"This also happens when you have high temperatures, more than 45ºC. So, all these conditions cause the formation of convective clouds in the Eastern part of the UAE. Additionally, these clouds formed on the eastern side, then move to the internal areas of the country like the Al Ain area and Ras-al-Khaimah areas towards the South, and sometimes even reached the coastal areas. Last year it even reached the coastal areas of Dubai and Abu Dhabi cities," says Habib further explaining the factors.

The national weather forecaster also said the rain-bearing capacity of these convective clouds is perfect for cloud seeding.

"Cloud seeding operations can prove efficient due to the formation of the convective clouds that could trigger more rainfall," he added.

Cloud seeding is a method of artificially encouraging a cloud to produce rain. It began in the UAE in the late 1990s, and since then, there has been an increase in the missions conducted annually.

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Cloud seeding involves flying an aircraft to a cloud that has tiny rain droplets present. The aircraft shoots salt flares into the cloud to enhance rainfall.

Thus, the light to moderate rainfall received in the country over the recent days was due to convective cloud formation eastward.

"We forecast some convective clouds in the coming days in the Eastern part of the UAE. Today and over the weekend, there is a strong chance of rains, but then it also depends on the situation, as it can change," he added.

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