Jebel Jais ice carpet stuns residents

The entire country was reeling under a cold snap earlier this week, with temperatures falling lower than 2°C at UAE’s highest peak, the Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah.

The low temperatures turned a water pond atop Jebel Jais, over 1,910 metres above sea level, into a carpet of frozen sheets of ice. The ‘frozen pond’, shared by Storm Centre on Instagram, shows two residents surrounding the waterbody.

In the video, the residents

are seen breaking the ice sheets and holding it up for the viewers. The thin ice sheets can easily break, yet they manage to keep huge portions of it intact.

The rest of the week saw spells of rainfall throughout the country, especially on Thursday.

Heavy rains and winds with speeds up to 60kmph kicked up dust across the UAE that day. Mountainous areas received particularly heavy rainfall, leaving some valleys flooded.

Police authorities took

to social media to warn motorists to reduce speed as several highways received varying intensities of rainfall.

Cloudy weather persisted in the morning, with “rough to very rough” seas. The amount of clouds decreased gradually by afternoon, the NCM added.

“Fresh to strong northwesterly winds, especially over the sea, caused blowing dust and sand over exposed areas, with a significant drop in temperatures,” the advisory on social media said.