The UAE is in the middle of a cold snap, with low temperatures of 2ºC forecast in the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah this week, and rain sweeping in from the west by Wednesday.
Cloudy conditions are expected until Friday, with rain forecast by the National Centre of Meteorology on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and noticeably cooler conditions across the Emirates, with lows of 14ºC forecast every day until Friday in Dubai and 15ºC in Abu Dhabi.
It follows a cold weekend, with temperatures in Jebel Jais dropping to 1.8ºC on Sunday, according to the NCM. The mercury rose slightly on Monday morning, with the UAE's lowest temperature of the day being 3.4ºC, recorded in the Raknah area of Al Ain at 7.15am.
Temperatures have dropped significantly since the turn of the year, NCM data shows. For comparison, the lowest temperature in the UAE on December 31 was 10.7ºC, in the vast desert region of Al Dhafra, in Abu Dhabi.
The chilly conditions and frost at the UAE’s tallest peak may be no surprise, but elsewhere in the Emirates there has also been a distinct feeling of winter in the air. Clear skies have coincided with temperatures dropping to 13ºC overnight in Al Ain, and 14ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Daytime temperatures are set to remain at about 24ºC for much of the week across the country, but rain is likely to arrive from Wednesday.
Dubai and the Northern Emirates are most likely to be hit by rain showers as clouds form over coastal areas. Thursday is likely to bring a further chance of rain, with light to moderate winds from the north.
More rain is forecast on Friday, in northern and eastern areas of the country, with fog expected to drift in on Saturday morning.
Snow may be a rare sight in the UAE, but light flurries have been seen in the mountains of the north. In February 2017, Jebel Jais received a blanket of snow, with snow returning three years later in the winter of 2020.
The coldest temperature in the Emirates was recorded in January 2021, when it was a very icy minus 2ºC in Raknah.
Winter season arrives
The UAE typically experiences an increase in unsettled weather and a drop in temperatures during the winter, which typically begins in late December and continues until the middle of March.
The NCM recently shared its climate outlook January, in which it forecasts rain and says average temperatures will be in line with those recorded during the first month of the year.
The UAE is expected to receive about 11.5mm of rain during the month. The average temperature – taking into account day and evening forecasts – will be 18.3ºC.
While the country has experienced a chilly and relatively rainy start to the year, the unsettled start to 2025 pales in comparison to the extreme weather felt in January last year. A 10-hour rainstorm brought chaos to the roads on Saturday, January 11, causing long traffic jams and flooding.
Rain fell throughout Friday and the early hours of Saturday, leaving many roads waterlogged. Preliminary readings from Dubai showed that 150mm of rain had fallen every hour for two-and-a-half hours.
Another January deluge was recorded in 2023, with yellow and amber alerts issued as downpours caused flooding in some areas. On Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, floodwater covered parts of the 12-lane motorway, leading to long queues of traffic.
January deluge in 2020 – in pictures
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
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Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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