Only in UAE when it rains heavily in one day On an average, it has rained as much as recorded in a year and a half.
Tuesday's storm in Dubai brought 145mm of rain – the highest result in the 75-year history of measurements. Average over the year That means 94 mm of rain has fallen.
Dubai is underwater. Poles stuck at the airport
Rain also paralyzed Dubai. Major streets were underwater, and some city districts were cut off from the world. Also, rain lashed many houses and apartments in high-rise buildings.
The international airport in the UAE capital suspended traffic and canceled hundreds of flights – both outbound and inbound – as runways were under water. On Thursday, it was announced that operations had resumed.
But still From several dozen to several hundred people failed to get a flight home or retrieve their luggage..
Among them is the polar group that arrived in Dubai from Bali during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. After spending 27 hours in the terminal Their travel agency booked them hotel rooms on Thursday, but they spent half the day trying to find their luggage.
– Taxes left us to our own devices. They offered us a flight on April 23, but our vacations were over and we had no childcare. We bought tickets to Warsaw ourselves, from other airlines and from another airport, but now we can't get our luggage out. Airlines say the luggage is at the airport, but we wait in line at information offices for hours and no one can help us, said a tourist from Poland.
– The worst thing is that our friends flew from this airport today To Warsaw, he told us that the plane was half empty. We only have a flight in five days. The confusion is indescribable – said another tourist.
See: Flooded homes, broken asphalt. A pole's account of the floods in Dubai
Heavy rain in UAE kills one A man was found in a flooded car in the northern city of Ras al-Khaimah. 19 people died in Oman.
Flooding in Dubai. Experts in possible causes
Rainfall is rare in the UAE and other countries on the Arabian Peninsula. Air temperature can be high in summer 50 degrees Celsius. As Reuters points out, these countries also lack drainage systems to deal with heavy rains, and it is not uncommon for roads to flood during rains.
After Tuesday's events, questions arose Cloud seedingA process often performed in the UAE may have resulted in heavy rain.
Cloud seeding is a process Chemicals are sprayed into the air In order to cause water condensation and consequently, precipitation.
See: America. Baltimore Bridge Disaster. The FBI has made a decision
This was reported by the Emirati's official newspaper “The National”, according to the Meteorological Center Seeding planes do not approach cloudsReuters reported that it caused heavy rain.
Officials said the rains came as a low pressure area south of the Arabian Peninsula brought warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean into the region. Since Tuesday, the general media has had limited information about the rain and only emphasized it It is not artificially induced.
In a country with no rivers or surface water, almost all drinking water comes from seawater desalination, but cloud seeding is very cheap: it costs Officials pay 1 percent of rainwater for desalination as compared to 60 percent of rainwater..
Heavy rains are falling in the Arabian Peninsula. “Precipitation Intensifies Worldwide”
Experts say heavy rainfall is likely Caused by a normal weather systemThis is exacerbated by climate change.
According to Esraa Alnaqbi, a forecaster at the UAE government's National Meteorological Center, a low pressure system in the upper atmosphere and low pressure below. causing heavy rainfall.
See: Bangladesh. Every year, storms kill hundreds of people in the country. Climate change is at the root of the problem
Friedrich Otto, a climate science lecturer at Imperial College London, said: It rains all over the world Climate change continues.
He noted that the climate is warming Retaining more moisture in the atmosphere Hence more violent rains.
– Cloud seeding Clouds cannot be created out of thin air. This action “encourages” the rapid condensation of water already in the atmosphere, Otto said. – So first we need moisture. Without it, there would be no clouds, she added.
The expert warned that heavy rainfall events in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Oman could worsen.
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