Clear weather forecast for New Year’s Eve celebrations in UAE

By Ghulam Haider

As temperatures are decreasing across the UAE, the Emirates’ National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has forecast that the plans for New Year’s Eve celebrations are expected to go ahead unaffected as the rainy start to the week in the UAE continued through Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Temperatures at midnight on December 31 are expected to be around 17ºC.

Partly cloudy across the UAE, chance of rainfall in eastern and coastal areas, minimum temperatures to hit 8°C, rough seas, the NCM has warned. An increase in humidity is also expected to cause fog formation across UAE on Friday.

According to the NCM, UAE residents will see mostly partly cloudy skies across the country. Residents can also expect rain especially in the eastern and coastal areas with strong winds blowing.

The NCM said: “Low clouds will appear with a probability of light rainfall over northern, eastern and coastal areas and islands.”

However, be careful if you have dust allergies and are heading outdoors, as the NCM warned: “Light to moderate winds at times, at a speed of 15– 25, reaching 40 km/hr, will cause blowing dust and sand.”

Temperatures across the country see a gradual decrease. The maximum temperature in the country is expected to be between 22-25°C, and the lowest temperature is expected to be between 08-15°C.

In coastal areas, temperature highs will be between 21-24°C, and 10-17°C in the mountainous regions.

Humidity will be high at 60-75 per cent in the coastal areas, whereas, in the mountainous regions, it is expected to be 45-65 per cent.

The sea will be rough by morning, becoming moderate to slight in the Arabian Gulf and slight in Oman sea.

Rain hammered parts of the country on Monday, with motorists urged to exercise caution on the roads to avoid accidents.

Residents can experienced cooler temperatures reaching in the 20s Centigrade on Tuesday.

Wednesday witnessed less rainfall and highs of about 25ºC along the coast before conditions dry up completely on Thursday.

The NCM expects the remainder of the week to be consistently dry, with highs of between 26ºC and 27ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Dubai Police shared advice online regarding safe driving in the rain, along with footage of the heavy downpour in the emirate.

Abu Dhabi Police had also called on drivers to be careful in the rain, in a post on social media. The force asked motorists to abide by varying speed limits displayed on electronic road signs.

Rainfall in the UAE averages between 140mm and 200mm a year, according to the Climate Change Knowledge Portal, with some mountainous areas experiencing up to 350mm a year.

Buildings in Downtown Dubai loom from the gloom amid stormy skies and rain.