Dubai International Airport (DXB) has issued a warning to travellers to avoid the airport amid ongoing severe thunderstorms that have caused floods and disrupted flight schedules.
Flights to DXB impacted by heavy thunderstorms: Here’s the latest update
On Tuesday, Dubai faced an extraordinary weather event, with thunderstorms bringing the highest rainfall ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The heavy downpour resulted in flooding on major highways and at DXB, the world’s busiest hub for international flights.
Emirates Airlines has since issued a statement advising travellers not to approach the airport “unless absolutely necessary.”
All flights remain subject to delays and diversions, and the airline has temporarily suspended check-in operations until midnight of the same day.
Passengers are encouraged to contact Emirates directly through their website or social media channels for rebooking and to check the status of their flights.
What is causing Dubai’s ‘unusual’ weather?
The sudden deluge in Dubai started late on Monday, with meteorologists recording about 20 millimetres (0.79 inches) of rainfall initially, a considerable amount given the city’s usual arid climate.
This initial phase was followed by a more intense period of rainfall around 09:00 on Tuesday, where the weather escalated, bringing additional rain and hail. By the end of Tuesday, the cumulative rainfall reached an extraordinary total of 142 millimetres (5.59 inches) over just 24 hours.
This amount of rain is substantially higher than the average yearly rainfall of 94.7 millimetres (3.73 inches) typically recorded at Dubai International Airport.
In the UAE, rain is an uncommon occurrence and mainly transpires during the cooler winter months. However, the intensity and volume of this week’s rainfall were highly atypical.
Such severe weather events are rare but not entirely unexpected due to the region’s susceptibility to occasional, albeit infrequent, meteorological extremes.
The infrastructure in Dubai, like many parts of the UAE, is not designed to handle such significant rainfall. The city’s drainage systems are underdeveloped due to the generally low precipitation levels throughout the year.
Consequently, the sudden and extreme influx of water overwhelmed the existing drainage capacity, leading to rapid accumulation of water on streets and disruption of normal activities.
Major highways and arterial roads experienced significant flooding, which hampered vehicular movement and affected daily commuting.
Watch: Videos of Dubai floods surface online
Social media and news sites have been washed with videos showing the extent of the flooding in Dubai.
Here are some of the videos we picked:
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