UAE braces for fresh spell of unstable weather this week

Dubai: A period of unstable weather could affect parts of the UAE and Qatar from Monday evening through Wednesday, driven by the passage of a cold upper trough, according to Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Astronomical Society and a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences (AUASS).

Al Jarwan said the system could bring cloud formation and chances of rainfall across parts of the UAE, although the strongest impact is expected in Oman, Al Khaleej newspaper reported.

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He added that the current period falls within what is locally known as the “Sarayat” season, a transitional spring phase known in the Gulf for fast-developing weather instability between mid-March and early May.

He explained that this period is typically marked by the formation of convective clouds, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, rainfall and occasional hail, as winter low-pressure systems weaken and spring atmospheric disturbances become more active.

During this transition, the subtropical high pressure system begins to strengthen over the northern Indian Ocean and extend towards north-east Africa and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

Al Jarwan also noted that the recent weather system that affected the UAE between March 21 and 28 ranks among the heaviest rainfall events recorded in the country in about 80 years of documented meteorological observations. 

He said weather data collection in the UAE dates back to 1932, when one of the first monitoring stations was established at Sharjah Airport as part of a regional network supporting aviation in the Gulf and Arabian Sea.