Heavy dust storms blanketing the UAE have sent pollution levels rocketing and highlighted concerns that people could be making the problem worse.
The dust has cut visibility on the roads and led to warnings to motorists to drive more carefully.
The storms are a regular summer occurrence often associated with the shamal north-westerly regional winds.
Dr Bassam Mahboub, head of the Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society, said sandstorms are typically made up of silica crystals and contain viruses, bacteria and dust mites.
“Allergic people shouldn’t go out without protection,” said Dr Mahboub, who also assistant dean at the University of Sharjah Medical College. “They should take their medication regularly and watch if the symptoms are not getting controlled.”
Air quality data on Monday indicated that the UAE had more heavily polluted air than that of many cities known as hotspots for smog, with haze or fog worsened by pollutants.
About midday on Monday, a commercial air quality information provider, BreezoMeter, gave Dubai a rating of four and Abu Dhabi a figure of nine on a 100-point scale, where lower figures indicate higher levels of pollution.
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The equivalent figures for Delhi, Beijing, Mumbai and Bangkok at the same time were 11, 22, 29 and 55 respectively, suggesting their air was cleaner.
The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi said natural phenomena were part of the reason why the emirate’s pollution levels could be higher than recommended thresholds.
“Dust storms often occur in the UAE from February to March and from June to August,” said Ruqaya Mohammed, the agency’s section manager for air quality, noise and climate change.
Ms Mohammed said that air quality across Abu Dhabi emirate was monitored in real time through 20 fixed and two mobile monitoring stations that measured up to 17 pollutants.
Among these are PM10, which is particulate matter up to 10 micrometres in size, and PM2.5, which is up to 2.5 micrometres.
Particulate matter has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other illnesses. “Data from the network shows that levels in Abu Dhabi emirate exceeded the national standard limit for the former and guideline values for the latter,” Ms Mohammed said.
This week’s figures follow concerns over air pollution.
The UAE responded robustly in 2015 when World Bank figures indicated that the country had the world's most polluted air, with officials saying that dust storm effects should not be lumped together with human-caused pollution.
The Emirates also said its own figures indicated much lower pollution levels.
Reports have suggested that each year more than 120,000 deaths, or about 7 per cent of all premature deaths, in the Mena region are associated with air pollution.
Peter Knippertz, professor of meteorology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, who researches dust storms in deserts, said that for people living in rural areas, dust storms could be "the number one source of air pollution".
Prof Knippertz suggested that human-induced effects could be making them more common.
“There’s been a long debate about how much the increase in distribution we see in several parts of the world is the result of human activity and how much is it natural fluctuations and maybe on to climate change,” he said.
Overgrazing, which affects vegetation levels, is among the factors that can cause an increase in dust storms.
Prof Knippertz said that because it could travel hundreds of kilometres, dust whipped up in Syria and Iraq, possibly as a result of human changes, could affect the Gulf region.
The conflict in Syria has, he said, had been given as a reason why fields have not been tended, leading to more erosion.
“This part of the year has practically no precipitation,” Prof Knippertz said. “Once dust is in the air, it’s difficult to get out. The smaller particles can take weeks to settle.”
While there are measures that governments can take to try to reduce the amount of dust whipped up, such as promoting effective soil management, he said these efforts had to be carried out internationally.
“In a small country like the UAE, if none of the neighbours takes any measures as well, you just receive the dust from far away,” said Prof Knippertz.
“Ideally, there would be a bit of a concerted effort to improve the situation. That would probably be the most effective thing to do, but given the situation in Syria, I’m not very hopeful we’ll see large improvements in the near future.”
At Mina Zayed, it's business as usual
Workers at the Mina Zayed in Abu Dhabi continued to work outside despite the dust and temperatures approaching 50°C. Merchants at the vegetable market spent the morning rushing between their stalls to 4x4s that would pull up outside the stalls. Customers at the market are unwilling to brave the midsummer heat and place an order that involves stepping outside their air-conditioned SUVs.
“It’s a little dusty but praise the Lord, it’s good,” said Mohammed Harun, 31, a fruit seller from Pakistan. “I must work and earn, so whatever comes, comes and whatever comes is no problem for me. God willing it will be good tomorrow.”
Most were less concerned by the dust than the searing heat. “Heat, what heat?” said merchant Mohammed Nasser, 40, as sweat dripped down his face and neck. “Who said anything about it being hot?”
As for the dust, workers had one response: Al hamdulillah, thank the Lord.
After all, it is all in God’s hands.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUndergraduate%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EInterior%20Design%3B%20Product%20Design%3B%20Visual%20Design%3B%20Fashion%20Design%20%26amp%3B%20Accessories%3B%20Fashion%20Styling%20%26amp%3B%20Creative%20Direction%3B%20Fashion%20Business%3B%20Foundation%20in%20Fashion%3B%20Foundation%20in%20Design%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EProfessional%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFashion%20e-Commerce%20%26amp%3B%20Digital%20Marketing%3B%20Fashion%20Entrepreneurship%3B%20Fashion%20Luxury%20Retail%20and%20Visual%20Merchandising%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EShort%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFashion%20design%3B%20Fashion%20Image%20%26amp%3B%20Styling%3B%20Fashion%20Trend%20Forecasting%3B%20Interior%20Design%3B%20Digital%20Art%20in%20Fashion%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20is%20at%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.istitutomarangoni.com%2Fen%3Futm_source%3DLocal%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_campaign%3Dgmb%26utm_content%3Ddubai%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Ewww.istitutomarangoni.com%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RIDE%20ON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Larry%20Yang%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jackie%20Chan%2C%20Liu%20Haocun%2C%20Kevin%20Guo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Kaoutar%20Harchi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Other%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20loss%20of%20sodium%20chloride%20in%20our%20sweat%20can%20lead%20to%20confusion%20and%20an%20altered%20mental%20status%20and%20slurred%20speech%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EBody%20temperature%20above%2039%C2%B0C%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHot%2C%20dry%20and%20red%20or%20damp%20skin%20can%20indicate%20heatstroke%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EA%20faster%20pulse%20than%20usual%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDizziness%2C%20nausea%20and%20headaches%20are%20also%20signs%20of%20overheating%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIn%20extreme%20cases%2C%20victims%20can%20lose%20consciousness%20and%20require%20immediate%20medical%20attention%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors