Drivers travelling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi face more fog in the coming days after poor visibility slowed journeys last week and prompted police to lower speed limits.
Abu Dhabi Police urged drivers to exercise caution, reduced speed limits to 80kph on several roads and banned lorries from motorways during poor visibility. Major roads across the Emirates experienced heavy traffic after the fog cleared, causing further traffic delays.
Ahmed Habib, from the National Centre of Meteorology, told The National that fog could persist until Tuesday, with varying intensity each day. He said coastal and western areas were particularly susceptible because of the combination of cooling temperatures and high humidity.
What is causing the heavy fog?
Light winds, high humidity and decreasing temperatures create favourable conditions for low fog. Wind speeds below 10kph allow moisture to accumulate near the ground.
Dr Habib explained that as temperatures drop at night, humid air near the surface cools, causing water vapour to condense into droplets and form fog. Fog usually clears as temperatures rise after sunrise or winds increase.
The weather department forecast humid conditions overnight and on Monday morning in some coastal and inland areas, which could lead to fog or mist.
The UAE will see fair to partly cloudy weather from Sunday to Tuesday. Convective clouds are likely to form in eastern and southern areas on Sunday, possibly extending to inland regions on Monday and bringing a chance of rain.
By Tuesday, eastern and western regions could become cloudy, with a chance of scattered showers.
When will winter start?
The recent foggy conditions coincide with the UAE’s transition to winter. The lowest temperature recorded in the country on Saturday morning was 23.7°C in Raknah, Al Ain, at 5.15am.
Dr Habib said the seasonal transition will occur through October and November, with autumn, which began on August 22, giving way to winter around December 22.
