Fresh fog reduces visibility on roads leading into Abu Dhabi

Take our poll: A spokesman for Dubai airport has said operations have returned to normal this morning after yesterday's two-hour closure caused by a power failure amid thick fog.

Powered by automated translation

DUBAI // Commuters travelling to Abu Dhabi faced a third morning of traffic problems yesterday as fog again reduced visibility on roads.

A spokesman for the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said the fog was particularly heavy in Jebel Ali and the surrounding area in Dubai and at the airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

“In Abu Dhabi city it was misty but in some scattered places visibility was reduced,” he said. “As you got closer to the airport near Khalifa City A, visibility was nil.”

A spokesman for Dubai airport said operations had returned to normal this morning after Wednesday’s two-hour closure caused by a power failure amid thick fog.

“We had visibility down to about 4,800 metres this morning which was technically a low-visibility operation,” he added. “But we had no problems because the runways are up and running. Everything’s good. It was not what we saw yesterday, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, an Indian cyclist was seriously injured in an accident involving a Honda at Al Qudra Road where visibility was particularly low as a result of the fog, according to Dubai Police. The injured man was taken to Rashid Hospital. No update on his condition was available yesterday.

In Sharjah, police recorded 150 accidents this week resulting from foggy weather. Authorities cautioned motorists to drive carefully and deployed extra police and ambulance patrols.

Police in Umm Al Quwain asked lorry drivers to stay off the roads during the fog-prone early hours to reduce instances of accidents involving lorries.

The NCMS said there would be more fog this morning in the same locations, and that it would continue into tomorrow and Sunday.

* with additional reporting from Yasin Kakande