Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The desert city-state of Dubai experienced an unprecedented weather event this week, as heavy thunderstorms lashed the region, dumping over a year and a half’s worth of rain in just a few hours.

The torrential downpour, which began on Tuesday, caused widespread flooding throughout the city, submerging major roadways, the Dubai airport, and even the city’s driverless metro system. Videos and images shared on social media showed cars and buses struggling to navigate through knee-deep waters, while shopping malls reported water gushing in from the ceiling.

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1. Record-Breaking Rainfall Levels
2. Concerns Over Cloud Seeding Program
3. Widespread Disruptions and Casualties

Record-Breaking Rainfall Levels

According to weather data, Dubai received over 142 millimeters of rainfall in a 24-hour period – a stark contrast to the city’s average annual rainfall of just 94.7 millimeters. The neighboring emirate of Fujairah was the hardest hit, recording 145 millimeters of rainfall, the highest in the UAE.

“It rained for just two hours and look at the situation. Dubai isn’t accustomed to heavy rainfall,” said singer Rahul Vaidya, who was in the city during the storm. “Cars are stuck, and there are no taxis. Everything has halted.”

Concerns Over Cloud Seeding Program

The unprecedented downpour has raised questions about the impact of climate change on the region’s weather patterns, as well as the role of the UAE’s cloud seeding program in potentially exacerbating the situation.

Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique used by the UAE to artificially enhance rainfall, but some experts have raised concerns about its long-term environmental consequences.

“With the region experiencing exceptional weather conditions like storms and heavy rainfall, causing unprecedented floods, some have warned against meddling with the natural order of things, claiming that the floods are nature’s way of ‘pushing back’,” the report stated.

Widespread Disruptions and Casualties

The flooding has caused significant disruptions, with the Dubai airport halting arrivals and passengers struggling to reach the terminals. One person was reported to have died in the neighboring emirate of Ras al-Khaimah when their vehicle was swept away by the floodwaters.

As the clean-up and recovery efforts continue, the UAE authorities have deployed tanker trucks to pump out the stagnant water from the streets and highways. The incident has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Dubai’s infrastructure to extreme weather events, raising questions about the city’s long-term sustainability in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

 

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