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UAE: Were you extra chilly last month? NCM reveals April 2023 was coldest month in 25 years
Even in the first two weeks of May, residents in the UAE experienced light to moderate rains but with no further drop in temperatures
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The month of April 2023 has been the coldest in 25 years, confirmed the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) to Khaleej Times.
Due to the moderate air masses that passed over the country, the month recorded the lowest maximum temperature as compared to previous years during the same period.
The average temperature has been 2.3°C lower than usual.
“25.8°C is the mean temperature of April in 2023m which is 2.3°C lower than in general (other years),” says Dr Ahmed Habib from NCM in an interview with Khaleej Times.
He adds, “We compared the temperatures of the past 24 years in the UAE for the month of April and realized this (2023) April experienced the lowest maximum and minimum temperatures. It’s the lowest mean (base index representing the average air temperature over different timescales) temperature.”
“Our country has been affected by the pressure system coming from north-west, Mediterranean and north of Saudi Arabia towards our area. So, the air mass coming from the colder areas towards our area is relatively cooled the region in this month.”
An air mass is a large volume of air in the atmosphere that is mostly uniform in temperature and moisture. Air masses can extend thousands of kilometres across the surface of Earth, and can reach from ground level to the stratosphere
Explaining further Dr Habib says, “Our area is affected by cloud cover… medium and high cloud cover in general. Therefore, it has been cloudy or part cloudy and the Sun has not been strong in daytime leading to a drop in temperatures. So, the reasons are the air mass coming from the relatively cold areas and the cloud cover that has led to the drop in temperatures that we observed last month.”
Residents in the UAE experienced light to moderate rains in the first two weeks of May as well, albeit with no further drop in temperatures.
Partly cloudy days in certain parts of the country have been an almost regular forecast for a while. Heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning was reported over Mirfa, Al Sila in the Al Dhafrah region earlier.
The NCM had also issued yellow and orange alerts for some regions, warning the public of hazardous conditions and advising them to take precautions if they ventured out.
Temperatures soared before witnessing a drop in May
In the week starting May 14, temperatures recorded were around 45ºC, but later the country witnessed a drop in temperature by 5°C to 7°C for a few days.
However, the MET department officials had indicated that the temperature will rise again by about 2°C to 4°C.
Dr Habib adds, “We are still recording the temperatures for this month. Therefore, it’s difficult to forecast whether the month of May will also be one of the coldest or not. But from my recordings so far this month seems to be in the range of the temperature that we usually experience in May.”
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