The United Arab Emirates has been hit by heavy thunderstorms, resulting in the heaviest rainfall ever recorded within hours. This downpour flooded major highways, Dubai's international airport, homes, and malls. Operations at the airport were briefly halted. In Oman, at least 18 people lost their lives due to the storms. The rainfall, ranging from 127mm to 254mm in different parts of the UAE within 24 hours, has been described as a "historic weather event" surpassing records since 1949. Dubai faces severe flooding, with the amount of rain received in a single day equaling what typically falls over 1.5 years. Experts attribute this extreme weather to a normal weather system intensified by climate change, rather than just a cloud-seeding experiment. Cloud seeding is a process in which chemicals are implanted into clouds to increase rainfall in an environment where water scarcity is a concern. The UAE, located in one of the hottest and driest regions on earth, has been leading the effort to seed clouds and increase precipitation. A low-pressure system in the upper atmosphere, coupled with low pressure at the surface had acted like a pressure 'squeeze' on the air.
Scientists say that the intense weather changed into because of an extraordinary conjunction of climate systems bringing moisture from the Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Mediterranean. The flooding prompted chaos in a metropolis unaccustomed and unprepared for such conditions. Major avenue tunnels packed with water, bring transportation to a standstill. Water poured into purchasing department shops, residential regions, and construction websites. Due to the saturation of water on the roads, many cars have been damaged totally. They also lost their business of oil extraction and tourism during the period, which is a major source of revenue for the country. UAE has announced $544mn (2bn dirhams) for repairing homes. They also exempted people from various fines that were levied during this period, ranging from various traffic violation fines to fines for staying in the country after the visa period was over, as people had to wait in UAE as the aviation services had to be temporarily closed down.
Fortunately, the UAE's sturdy infrastructure and emergency planning prevented any catastrophic harm or lack of existence. However, the economic toll from the floods is predicted to be giant, with initial estimates in the billions of dirhams from businesses being closed down and belongings harm. Climate scientists caution that the UAE wishes to put together extra extreme weather activities like this in the future because of weather exchange. While the desolate tract place may absolutely become even hotter and drier on average, extended evaporation can also lead to extra excessive rain storms when conditions are right. The Dubai floods had been a stark reminder that even towns with terrific engineering prowess may be brought to their knees by effective herbal forces. As the arena continues warming, no nook of the globe might be immune to capability climate disruptions.
- Harshata Gotephode
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