Winter came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night as temperatures rose and Wednesday saw weeks of fog give way to the arrival of dust and haze.
After a long, cold winter and despite predictions that the cooler weather was here to stay this week, the jackets and hoodies came off as temperatures hit highs of 34°C.
The heavy, intermittent fog that caused low visibility and dangerous driving conditions over the last few months lifted, making way for strong winds to stir up dust and sand causing low visibility and dangerous driving conditions.
Drivers were, once again, warned by police to take extra care on the roads, watch out for sand build-up and not to use their mobile phones or take pictures.
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Extreme weather in the UAE: Tales of sun, sand and even snow
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People with respiratory conditions were also urged to take extra precautions.
The National Centre of Meteorology said that winds across the country reached speeds of 45 kph and warned that strong winds could cause rough seas in the Arabian Gulf and the Oman sea. Waves of upto seven feet were expected offshore.
“The unstable weather is caused by low pressure that pushed strong south-easterly winds across the country,” said Abul Aziz Al Jabri, a forecaster at the NCM.
In a stark reminder of the importance of driving safely in reduced visibility, the haze comes after a spate of accidents caused by the fog.
Last Thursday, more than 500 traffic accidents were reported in Dubai – Dubai police received 564 accident reports and 3,564 emergency calls.
On the same day, nine people were injured in an accident involving 28 vehicles. The accident happened on Emirates Road as heavy fog reduced visibility to less than 50 metres in areas across the country.
Two days previously, 44 vehicles collided in heavy fog outside Abu Dhabi city on the new E311 road –which is named Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road on the Dubai section and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Road in the Abu Dhabi stretch – and some 22 people were injured in the crash, which was videoed by a member of the public and distributed through social media.
A lorry driver whose vehicle was captured ploughing into a line of traffic following the pile-up was later arrested on suspicion of endangering motorists' lives.
Abu Dhabi Police said the man drove recklessly, ignored severe weather conditions and caused a major accident.
Brigadier Ali Al Dhaheri, director general of Central Operations, said the driver put lives at risk.
Flights were not affected by Wednesday's weather conditions, a duty officer at Abu Dhabi Airport told The National.
Humidity was expected to increase over night and into the early hours of Thursday over some internal and coastal areas. Forecasters said the strong winds were likely to move towards the south of Saudi Arabia.
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
