UAE faces cold snap as Northern Emirates prepare for heavy rain
People across the UAE are preparing for winter after a cold snap at the weekend sent morning temperatures down.
They dropped to as low as 6.6°C at Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah at 6.30am on Saturday, rising to 7.9°C a day later, which followed a general seasonal decline in temperatures in recent days.
It is not only at the UAE’s tallest peak where there has been a chill in the air, with cooler weather taking hold at lower levels across the country.
Temperatures will continue to dip this week – particularly during the evenings and early mornings – as the UAE approaches its coldest time of the year.
Retailers across the country typically enjoy a boom in sales of winter clothing, including hoodies, boots, beanie hats and coats, during December, January and February.
The shift in seasons will make for pleasant daytime conditions in the final days of the year, a time in which many schools have closed for the winter break and many residents are anticipating a Christmas holiday.
The National Centre of Meteorology, in its latest five-day bulletin, forecast that temperatures will drop steadily in Dubai during the week, with highs ranging from 28°C early in the week to 25°C by Friday.
In Abu Dhabi, daytime temperatures are expected to drop to 25°C by Thursday.
Those temperatures will represent a significant decline from the searing summer heat this year, when the temperatures across the UAE exceeded 50°C on some days.
The weather bureau said winds would reach speeds of up to 35kph this week, contributing to the brisk winter weather.
Cloudy weather is expected in the days ahead, with heavy rain forecast for parts of the Northern Emirates later in the week.
The weather centre said Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah were set to face wet weather tomorrow and Thursday.
More mist could drift in on Thursday and Friday, it said.