UAE weather live: Emirates hit by severe storms
An Emirati man died during flash floods on Tuesday in Ras Al Khaimah amid record levels of rainfall across the UAE.
The citizen, who was in his 70s, was killed when his vehicle was swept away by strong currents during treacherous weather in Ras Al Khaimah.
Police said the man was attempting to travel through a flooded wadi as heavy rain battered the emirate.
Emergency response teams recovered his body.
The force issued condolences to the man's family and urged members of the public to remain indoors during the hazardous weather.
Record-setting rainfall
The UAE on Tuesday experienced its largest single day of rainfall in 75 years. The heavy rain caused widespread flooding, travel disruption and damage.
The National Centre of Meteorology said the volume of rain on Tuesday was the highest since official records began in 1949.
NCM data, which covered a 24-hour period until 9pm on Tuesday, showed a 254mm of rain fell in one area of Al Ain alone – the equivalent of about two years worth of average rainfall in the UAE.
The NCM said the persistent downpours were an “exceptional event in the UAE's climate history since the start of recording climate data”.
Travel disruption
The adverse weather led to flights being cancelled, delayed and diverted, roads being closed and the disruption of public transport services.
Dubai International Airport said on Wednesday morning a significant number of passengers have missed flights as severe flooding caused widespread travel disruption.
The major travel hub was forced to shut down operations for 25 minutes on Tuesday due to the adverse weather.
Roads leading to the airport remained blocked and flooded after a record day of rainfall in the Emirates.
“Due to road blockages and flooding, we're experiencing a high volume of guests unable to reach #DXB for their departing flights,” the airport said on X.
“We're working continuously to restore normal operations, and have also arranged refreshments for guests currently at the airport, where possible.”
Inbound flights to Dubai International Airport were diverted elsewhere on Tuesday night.
“We are temporarily diverting arriving flights this evening until the weather improves. Departures will continue to operate,” the airport said.
Dubai Airports said 17 flights were cancelled on Tuesday due to the weather.
On Wednesday, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said traffic on Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road, heading to Sharjah, had been diverted to Dubai-Al Ain Road, leading to Emirates Road.
The authority warned that Dubai Metro services are also facing further disruption.
“Due to the unstable weather and to ensure the sustainability of Dubai Metro operations and services, we would like to inform you that there will be maintenance work at the stations on the Red and Green lines on Wednesday, which will be affecting both the metro timings and stations,' the authority said on X.
“Please note that free shuttle bus services will be provided to metro users at specific stations on the Green and Red lines to ensure your arrival at your destinations.”
More rain but conditions to ease
Adverse conditions are expected to continue into Wednesday morning, with convective clouds that bring rainfall and lightning forming over coastal areas – particularly in the north and east of the country.
These are forecast to disperse by midday on Wednesday.
A yellow alert – warning of further rainfall – remains in place, largely in the Northern Emirates, until 6pm on Wednesday.
Further rain was recorded in the Northern Emirates on Wednesday morning, with the worst downpours in Ras Al Khaimah.
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
