FOggy ShaDeS OF grey wrap a thIck blaNket arOUND DUbaI
Dubai took on a whole new image on Saturday morning, as fog blanketed most of the city, including Dubai Marina. According to the National Centre of Meteorology, foggy conditions would continue for the next few days. —
abu dhabi — Fog and mist engulfed most parts of the country on Saturday, causing flight delays and cancellations. The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has issued an advisory for residents, as the fog is set to continue for the next few days.
“There will be fog formation with poor visibility over roads, especially in coastal, internal and northern areas during Saturday night and Sunday morning. So follow the traffic rules and drive safely,” the advisory reads.
The NCM expects fair to partly cloudy weather and hazy at times. The Met office added: “The weather will be relatively cold by night with light to moderate winds. The relative humidity will increase in the night and early morning over some internal and coastal areas, with a chance of fog and mist formation.”
From Saturday late night to afternoon, there was dense fog formation over Abu Dhabi, in the eastern and western regions of the Capital. Roads connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Al Ain were under a thick blanket of fog. There was poor visibility of less than 1,000 metres and police urged motorists to maintain a safe distance while driving.
The Abu Dhabi and Dubai Police urged drivers to follow traffic rules, adjust speed as per the weather conditions and maintain a safe distance between vehicles. There fog cover was low to dense over Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports and the weather conditions affected airline services.
At Abu Dhabi International Airport in particular, there was massive rescheduling of inbound and outbound flights. Flights arriving from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Riga, Chicago, New York, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode were all delayed. Services to Dammam were cancelled.
Flights leaving to Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Dhaka, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Shanghai, Cairo, Rome, Riga, Manchester, London, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad all were rescheduled. One PIA flight from Islamabad and a Biman flight from Dhaka got diverted.
Etihad Airways said that due to heavy fog forecast in Abu Dhabi for the next few days, the airlines anticipate some flight delays and cancellations. As a consequence, some return flights into Abu Dhabi are also expected to be disrupted. “Etihad Airways continues to monitor the adverse weather conditions in Abu Dhabi and has contingency plans in place, in the event of further disruption to operations. Etihad Airways regrets any inconvenience caused which is beyond our control, and thanks guests for their understanding during this holiday period,” an Etihad Airways spokesperson said in a statement.
Guests holding bookings over the next few days are advised to check their flights’ status at etihad.com/flightstatus or through the Etihad Airways app before leaving for the airport. Alternatively, guests can call the Etihad Airways Global Contact Centre +971 (0) 2599 0000, or access other local numbers through etihad.com/contacts for updates.
There will be fog with poor visibility on roads... during Saturday night and Sunday morning.” National Centre of Meteorology