It will be cooler on the coast, with highs of 30°C in Abu Dhabi and 29°C in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
It will be cooler on the coast, with highs of 30°C in Abu Dhabi and 29°C in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
It will be cooler on the coast, with highs of 30°C in Abu Dhabi and 29°C in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
It will be cooler on the coast, with highs of 30°C in Abu Dhabi and 29°C in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UAE

Environment

UAE weather: fog to clear to leave sunny and warm day

Gloomy weather affected vast areas of the coast, stretching from the outskirts of Abu Dhabi past Ajman and encroaching deep inland to the southern border

Gillian Duncan
Gillian Duncan

March 21, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Thick fog blanketed parts of the UAE early on Monday as police urged drivers to take care on the roads.

The gloomy weather affected vast areas of the coast, stretching from the outskirts of Abu Dhabi past Ajman and encroaching deep inland to the southern border.

It is expected to lift by 9.30am to leave a mainly sunny day with a rise in temperatures of up to 36°C in some areas in the south.

It will be cooler on the coast, with highs of 30°C in Abu Dhabi and 29°C in Dubai.

Winds will be light to moderate and conditions in the Arabian Gulf and Oman Sea will be calm.

Humidity will rise again overnight, raising the risk of further mist and fog over some areas on the coast and inland on Tuesday.

After the foggy start to the week, Tuesday will be fair to partly cloudy, with highs of 31°C in Abu Dhabi and 32°C in Dubai.

Humidity will return overnight, which could result in mist and fog early on Wednesday.

Temperatures will climb throughout the week, reaching a high of 38°C in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, before falling back to the low 30s at the weekend.

Fog in the UAE - in pictures

  • Early morning fog causes low visibility in Dubai on January 13, 2022. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Early morning fog causes low visibility in Dubai on January 13, 2022. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The sun rises between the city's skyscrapers. Antonie Robertson / The National
    The sun rises between the city's skyscrapers. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Motorists cautiously begin their commute. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Motorists cautiously begin their commute. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • As the fog clears a few clouds can be seen in the sky. Antonie Robertson / The National
    As the fog clears a few clouds can be seen in the sky. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • A jogger enjoys the cooler temperatures. Antonie Robertson / The National
    A jogger enjoys the cooler temperatures. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Fog covers the city's iconic buildings. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Fog covers the city's iconic buildings. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Motorists make their way to work in the fog. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Motorists make their way to work in the fog. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • It was also a hazy morning along the Al Gurm Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    It was also a hazy morning along the Al Gurm Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Gate Tower on Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, is pictured among the haze. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Gate Tower on Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, is pictured among the haze. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • The capital's Pineapple building stands tall as day breaks. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    The capital's Pineapple building stands tall as day breaks. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Abu Dhabi's skyline is just visible in the distance. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Abu Dhabi's skyline is just visible in the distance. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

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.”

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Winner: M'A Yaromoon, Jesus Rosales (jockey), Khalifa Al Neydai (trainer)

5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: No Riesgo Al Maury, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Mahmouda, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AS Jezan, George Buckell, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

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SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

Checks continue

A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.

Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.

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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history

- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon

- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.

- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater

- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.  

- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.

- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.

-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.

Four-day collections of TOH

Day             Indian Rs (Dh)        

Thursday    500.75 million (25.23m)

Friday         280.25m (14.12m)

Saturday     220.75m (11.21m)

Sunday       170.25m (8.58m)

Total            1.19bn (59.15m)

(Figures in millions, approximate)

Updated: March 21, 2022, 4:10 AM
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