It has been one of the most unseasonal few months in years. Lashing rain, dust clouds and even lightning forks striking Burj Khalifa have made this winter a one to remember.
But now the steady onslaught of summer has begun. Temperatures have hit 40°C and the talk of the town is just how hot it has become and so quickly. So is there any respite in sight as June and next week’s Eid holiday approaches?
The bad news is that the hot weather and high humidity are here to stay. According to the National Centre of Meteorology, temperatures could rise to a searing 46°C in some parts of the country by the weekend.
But it is not all bad. There is a chance of cooling winds that could even reach speeds of up to 30kph.
A possibility of some rain in eastern parts of the UAE is also forecast. This might sound surprising but the region can catch some of the monsoon clouds that drift across from India. The drenching rains are about to start in India and this causes a phenomenon known as kareef in southern Oman – when rain turns the desert green - and the UAE can sometimes catch part of that. So much so that the UAE sends its cloud-seeding planes into the skies even during the summer to try to enhance rainfall.
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The UAE's wet weather in March
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This year, talk about the UAE’s “bad weather” was the subject of countless conversations. But unpredictable weather has historically been a feature of life here.
Take 1982. That year, flood waters swamped Abu Dhabi. The situation was so bad that parts of the Tourist Club neighbourhood were nicknamed the "lake district".
People had to use kayaks to navigate the streets and areas were flooded for weeks.
People also complained about the rain just a few months ago, but will probably now be hoping for a little more of that cooling drizzle as the mercury climbs.
