UAE weather: Alert issued as heavy rains fall; residents told to avoid mountains, valleys

Dark clouds hovering across much of the UAE opened up in multiple areas, with several reporting heavy to light rainfall on Sunday morning.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) reported rains over Dubai’s Expo 2020 area, Margham and Al Maktoum International Airport.

Heavy rains caused a valley in Ras Al Khaimah to flow with rainwater:

Rains have also been reported in Al Ain, Al Dhafra and Abu Dhabi’s Al Mushrif. The Fujairah International Airport and surrounding areas saw heavy rains as well.

The NCM has issued rain-related ‘Orange’ (hazardous weather events expected) and ‘Yellow’ (look out if venturing outside) alerts for all parts of the country:

Warning of “unstable weather conditions”, the Ministry of Interior called on drivers to be cautious while driving.

The Dubai Police urged residents to avoid “open waters, mountainous areas and valleys during unstable weather conditions”.

January 2022 has seen some heavy rainfalls since the season began.

“If we compare the rains this year to the conditions in 2021, we didn’t have such instability last year. This year, the rains are good,” an official from the NCM had told Khaleej Times earlier.

New Year’s Eve saw the UAE recording its highest amount of rainfall in 18 months.

The NCM has forecast more rains in the next few days.

• Dubai
• Ras Al Khaimah