Dubai: Heavy fog conditions in the morning are expected to grip the UAE for the next five days, well into the new year, says the national weather bureau.
The trend has prompted authorities to issue public advisories urging motorists to take great care in coming days when driving and others to be on high alert in areas where visibility has been sharply reduced.
Traffic slowed to a crawl in coastal areas of the UAE on Wednesday morning as thick fog enveloped the country, reducing visibility to less than 50 metres.
Reduced visibility was much more apparent in urban areas such as Dubai where many of the prominent skyline’s tallest buildings were shrouded from sight.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology in Abu Dhabi said the country can expect these fog conditions to continue into next week given that a high-pressure system is trapping colder overnight winter temperatures at ground level.
“The reason for this is the high pressure and the upper levels of air,” said Abdul Aziz Al Jabri, weather forecaster. “It captures the humidity below.”
Al Jabri said that unlike other times of the year, the fog is not burnt off so easily by hotter temperatures.
“Usually the fog will dissipate within 30 or 40 minutes when it comes up in the morning,” Al Jabri said. “In the winter, it takes longer.”
Over the next five days, Al Jabri said, while foggy conditions will continue, they will be much more prominent inland within the UAE given strong westerly winds.
Fog, however, will still hug some low-lying areas along the UAE shoreline as well, he said.
