Motorists contend with strong winds and poor visibility while a sandstorm engulfs Dubai.  Antonie Robertson
Motorists contend with strong winds and poor visibility while a sandstorm engulfs Dubai. Antonie Robertson

UAE dust storms likely to last for days



ABU DHABI // Dust, reduced visibility and the chance of thunderstorms are forecast for the next couple of days, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology.

The weather conditions for the next 24 hours have been categorised by the NCMS as “significant,” prompting several government agencies to issue weather-related warnings.

“Do not allow children with respiratory, asthma and allergic diseases to go out except in utmost urgent cases,” the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority tweeted. “Reduce the frequency of going out from the house and being subject to outdoor environment as much as possible.”

If venturing outside, “Put a mask over your nose and mouth, and protect your eyes,” the authority warned. It also advised people to “stay away from glass windows and doors”.

The NCMS called on drivers to reduce speed and leave enough space between vehicles. Dubai Police echoed the notice.

“Due to reduced visibility because of the sand and dust we request motorist to drive carefully and safely,” the force tweeted.

Nine people were injured in road accidents in Dubai on Saturday.

Col Saif Al Mazroeui, director of the General Department of Traffic, said that one man was severely injured in a 15-car pile-up on Sheikh Zayed Road.

In another incident, eight people sustained minor injuries when their minibus flipped over on the Sheikh Zayed highway.

Abu Dhabi police tweeted a message to “beware of surprises” along with a photograph of a large tree branch knocked down by strong winds blocking a street.

Strong winds whipped up dust and sand, reducing visibility to less than 1,000 metres in many parts of the country.

At Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, visibility fell to 500 metres and to 1,400 metres in Al Ain, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Bateen.

Flights at the Abu Dhabi International Airport got away as normal. Planes are only diverted or flights cancelled when visibility is less than 100 metres, a spokeswoman said.

In Sharjah, the strong winds created high waves, forcing the seawater into Kalba Corniche. Police closed off the road in both directions so that the municipality could drain the flood. No major accidents were reported in the emirate and police increased their patrols on the main roads, urging motorists to exercise extreme caution.

The emergency department at Al Ain City Municipality received more 164 reports of damages and emergencies caused by the unstable weather conditions witnessed since Thursday.

Numbers of emergencies increased, including fallen trees on roadsides as well as fallen billboards and temporary construction fences.

Saeed Al Kaabi, manager of the emergency department at the municipality, said that it has contingencies to cope with the unstable weather and sandstorms which are affecting the whole city.

“The municipality gets ready for any emergency cases by holding ongoing meetings to respond quickly to any such cases,” he said.

Al Ain urged road users to take care until the bad weather abates and to report any emergencies or damages by calling 993.

NCMS meteorologist Sufian Farrah said conditions are not expected to improve until Tuesday.

“Because the northwesterly winds will replace the southerly wind, this actually is suspended with dust, it’s carrying dust, it will remain until at least tomorrow morning,” said Mr Farrah.

“Because the wind is accelerating and fresh, it will raise the dust. This northwesterly wind will be fresh and strong at times over the sea, specifically, and will extend to most or all parts of the country until tomorrow. I don’t see continuously strong.”

Mr Farrah said the isolated sandstorms are normal for this time of year. Sandstorms are classified when wind speeds exceed 30kph and visibility drops to 1,000 metres or less.

Sunday’s forecast is for partly cloudy and dusty skies. The visibility is expected to remain low at a minimum of 500 metres in Abu Dhabi as the wind is expected to blow northwest at about 25 to 35kph.

A chance of thunder showers are forecast on Monday as the temperature is expected to reach a high of 25C and a low of 18C. Visibility will improve to a minimum of 4,000 metres.

“The amount of cloud will increase, with a chance of rain over the northern and coastal areas in the early morning and again tomorrow,” said Mr Farrah.

Showers are expected on Tuesday.

“We are warning people to not enter the sea because it’s rough to very rough in the Arabian Gulf and rough in the Oman Sea,” said Mr Farrah. “Also precaution must be taken on the roads because of the bad visibility and accumulation of sand dunes in some parts.”

newsdesk@thenational.ae

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

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Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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.”

The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder

Transmission: seven-speed auto

Power: 400hp

Torque: 500Nm

Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)

On sale: 2022 

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