Dubai: what caused the historic storm that unleashed chaos in the emirate and generated severe flooding in the Arabian Peninsula

Meteorologists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it was an “exceptional event” in the country’s climate history.

A storm system started on Sunday in the Persian Gulf region generated record rains between Monday night and Tuesday.

In 24 hours more than 254.8 mm of water fell in the Khatam al Shikla area, about 150 km south of Dubai

That is equivalent to all the rain that usually falls in the UAE in an entire year. The National Meteorological Center of the Arab country said that it was the highest rainfall in the last 75 years.

At least 19 people died in neighboring Oman in various incidents related to heavy rains.

The rainfall also hit Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Severe flooding was recorded at Dubai airport, the second busiest in passenger traffic in the world, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded who were still trying to reach their destinations this Wednesday.

In the images from Dubai you could see vehicles submerged under water, strong gusts of wind that uprooted trees and street furniture, and great electrical activity.

End of Instagram content

Ross Moore, a Briton living in Dubai, told the BBC that the storm was “an incredible sight.”

“I have never seen anything like it in the United Arab Emirates and I’ve been here since 2017. The thunder and lightning was incredible, the noise was something I will never forget,” he explained.

But what caused this never-before-seen rain in such a short time?

The UAE typically sees an average of 140-200mm of rainfall per year, while Dubai typically only sees 97mm. The monthly average in April is just 8 mm.

That is why the more than 200 mm that fell with this storm are extraordinary.

Experts agree that there was a combination of factors and explain that the storm It was already foreseen in the meteorological models hours before it happened.

“It was already predicted to be a severe weather event. Before it occurred, computer models They already predicted rain equivalent to more than a year in a period of 24 hours”explained Matt Taylor, BBC meteorologist.

A low pressure that was generated in the south of the Arabian Peninsula absorbed a large amount of moisture from sea. Higher than normal water and air temperatures fueled the storm system.

The increase in ocean surface temperatures, which scientists attribute to global warming, has made these types of storms more frequent around the world in recent years.

Warmer air can retain more moisture – 7% more for each degree Celsius – which in turn can increase the severity of precipitation.

“The intensity of the rain broke records, but this is consistent with a warmer climate, with more moisture available to feed the storms, which makes the torrential rains and associated flooding increasingly powerful,” explains Richard Allan, professor of climatology from the University of Reading (United Kingdom).

According to a recent study, annual rainfall could increase by up to 30% in much of the UAE between now and the end of the century, as the planet continues to warm.

To this we must add that the ground conditions In the Arabian Peninsula, which is a desert region, they are also a contributing factor to flooding.

“Obviously, major weather events of this type are rare, but it is a very arid region in which the soils are very compact and dry. Therefore, as soon as it rains, flash floods occur. That is not something unusual in Dubai. But it is fair to say that this was a really big event,” Maarten Ambaum, professor of meteorology at the University of Reading, explained to the BBC.

Local authorities ruled out that the rainfall occurred as a result of “cloud seeding”, a practice that has been used since the 1990s in the region to produce rain.

The truth is that rains are infrequent in the UAE, so the infrastructure is not prepared for extreme rainfall.

Hence, both the Dubai airport runways and important communication routes in the city were flooded by water.

And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.