Abu Dhabi:

Days after the United Arab Emirates witnessed flooding in April, heavy rains have returned to the country with several flights being cancelled and delayed in and out of Dubai while people and students were asked to work and study from home, Khaleej Times reported.

An orange alert was issued on Thursday as heavy rains and thunderstorms lashed the UAE. Over the past few days, the UAE has been preparing for this wave of unstable weather, which is forecast to peak on May 2, until May 3.

People have been advised to take safety measures across all sectors. Schools are on distance learning while companies have been asked to allow people to work from home. Parks and beaches have been shut.

Dubai announced work from home for government employees on May 2 and May 3 due to unstable weather conditions prevailing in the emirate, according to Khaleej Times.

On Wednesday, UAE’s disaster management authority reiterated the nation’s readiness to tackle the upcoming weather conditions. It said that all relevant agencies are ready to tackle the anticipated weather fluctuations by implementing measures.

Earlier, an NCM expert said the impending weather condition is not anticipated to be the same as the rainfall seen on April 16. Officials have discussed the precautionary measures that must be taken during this time.

The UAE on Wednesday announced that students will have online classes for all government schools on May 2 and 3 in the country due to prevailing weather conditions.

Furthermore, the government announced that all private schools in Dubai will have online learning on May 2 and May 3 due to expected unstable weather conditions. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced that the decision is applicable to all private schools, nurseries and universities.

Five inbound flights to Dubai Airport were diverted overnight, while 9 arrivals and four outbound flights were cancelled, according to Dubai Airport spokesperson, Khaleej Times reported on May 2.

The airport spokesperson further said, “Guests departing from Dubai’s airports are advised to allocate additional time for their journey to the airport, as road congestion may be anticipated. We strongly encourage the utilisation of the Dubai Metro to get to DXB Terminals 1 and 3 wherever feasible.”

Emirates cancelled several flights due to bad weather across the UAE on Thursday. Flight operations at Dubai International Airport have been reduced.

In a statement, Emirates said, “Customers arriving or departing from Dubai airport on May 2 can expect some delays as flights are rescheduled,” the report said.

A Flydubai spokesperson said that the “adverse weather conditions in Dubai on Thursday have caused some delays to their operations,” Khaleej Times reported.

The spokesperson added, “Passengers are advised to allow extra time for their journey to DXB, whether they are travelling by car or public transport. Passengers are also advised to update their contact details via the manage booking tab and check (flydubai website) for the latest updates regarding their flight.”

Sharjah-based Air Arabia advised passengers flying from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah to plan for additional travel time to the airport due to the weather conditions. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways asked passengers using the Etihad bus service between Zayed International Airport and Dubai “to check in early for their transfer to allow additional time to reach the airport”.

Indian Airlines IndiGo said that their flight operations have been affected due to bad weather in Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi. Vistara and SpiceJet also said that departures, arrivals, and flights will be impacted due to inclement weather, the report said.

In a post on X, IndiGo on Thursday stated, “#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to bad weather in #Dubai #Sharjah #RasAlKhaimah #AbuDhabi, our flight operations are impacted. Road blockages may disrupt local transport. Plan accordingly and allow extra time for airport travel.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Dubai Police issued a public safety warning this evening due to expected unstable weather conditions.”Please stay away from the beaches and do not sail, avoid valley areas, torrential rains, and low places, exercise caution while driving vehicles,” the alert read.

It also asked people to adhere to the instructions of the competent authorities as, it said, the emirate was expected to witness weather fluctuations in the coming hours, the Khaleej Times reported.

This comes after an alert by the UAE for medium to heavy rains for two days, starting from Wednesday evening. Companies have been encouraged to ask employees to work from home. Several schools were also asked to opt for distance learning till Friday as the country prepares for heavy rain, as per a report by The National.

The Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) in Dubai also announced that they have temporarily suspended accepting requests for the entry and departure of wooden dhows.

Dubai Airports also issued advisary for paasengers related to the inclement weather tomorrow. Authorities asked travellers to start their journey early and add some extra travel time to reach the airport in time whether they travelling by car or public transport.

On April 16, the UAE was hit by record rains that brought parts of the Gulf country to a standstill, heavily flooding some neighbourhoods, including in Dubai and northern cities.

The rains were the heaviest experienced by the United Arab Emirates in the 75 years that records have been kept.

American space agency NASA has released photos of areas that were flooded in the UAE after last week’s torrential rain. NASA said it was a “slow-moving storm” system that brought so much rain into the Gulf states and dropped more than a year’s worth of downpour in some areas. The country’s meteorological department said it received 6.04 billion cubic metres of rain last week, which is close to the 6.7 billion cubic metres it receives in the entire year, according to Khaleej Times.

“Some areas remained flooded on April 19, when Landsat 9 (satellite) passed over the region for the first time since the storms. The image showed flooding in Jebel Ali,” said NASA.

Also Read | More Rain To Hit UAE From Monday, Week After Record Deluge In Dubai

Its Landsat 9 satellite monitors understanding and managing the land resources needed to sustain human life.

The space agency also posted a combination image of the deluge on X, showing the UAE on April 3 and April 19. The first image shows the arid plains, which the country is known for. The second one, meanwhile, shows blue coloured water puddles in some southern stretches.

In the United Arab Emirates, a storm system brought more than a year’s worth of rain to some cities earlier this week.

These #Landsat images show flooding around Abu Dhabi before and after the storms with enhanced color to show water in blue. https://t.co/y7OqLmrcH5pic.twitter.com/4kHEz0eULX

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) April 19, 2024

Explaining the NASA images, Khaleej Times said the April 19 photo shows Sheikh Zayed Road, a major thoroughfare that runs through Dubai and Abu Dhabi, covered in water. Patches of flooded areas are also visible in Khalifa City and Zayed City, residential areas southeast of Abu Dhabi’s downtown.

The deluge hit the normal life in Dubai, where a majority of private sector entities opted for work from home.

The failure of water to drain away proved a major obstacle to recovery efforts in the desert country, with persistent flooding blocking roads around Dubai for a few days.

Without drainage for excess water, authorities relied on pumping trucks to suck it up with giant hoses and drive it away.

The heavy rain is being blamed on climate change.

A leading weather experts has warned of “weather wars” between countries if cloud seeding gets out of hand. In a statement, Johan Jaques, a senior meteorologist at environmental technology company KISTERS, has warned if unintended consequences when technology is used to alter the weather. The comment comes as theories claiming Dubai’s torrential rainfall was caused by cloud seeding are doing the rounds on the internet. The practice, in which planes inject clouds with chemicals, was introduced in the 1940s especially in areas with little rainfall, or in case of prolonged dry spell.

But several experts don’t agree with the theory that cloud seeding was responsible, and the theory has caused a debate in the community.

Still, Mr Jaques thinks there could be diplomatic consequences and subsequent “weather wars” is cloud seeding is allowed to proliferate.

“Cloud seeding aims to enhance and accelerate the precipitation process. Especially in areas which have not seen any rain over a long time, such intense precipitation can lead to infiltration excess flow, with potential flash floods as a result,” the meteorologist said in a statement, as per Newsweek.

“The Dubai floods act as a stark warning of the unintended consequences we can unleash when we use such technology to alter the weather. Additionally, we have little control over the aftermath of cloud seeding. Where exactly is it going to be raining effectively? Using techniques such as cloud seeding to bring much-needed rainfall in one area can cause flash floods and droughts in another,” Mr Jaques further said.

There is no evidence to suggest that rain in Dubai was caused by cloud seeding. A UAE government agency that oversees the process has denied that any such operations took place before the storm.

The UAE state news agency late on Wednesday carried a statement from President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan saying he had ordered authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by the storm.