UAE | Environment

Fog blankets UAE but Christmas forecast is bright and sunny

Fog blanketed the UAE on Wednesday morning driving temperatures down, but forecasters say Christmas Day will be bright and sunny.

  • By Dr Abdul-Hadi Al-Timimi, Abu Dhabi Editor and Mahmood Saberi, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 12:33 December 24, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Heavy fog blankets Airport Road in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday morning, causing poor visibility.
  • Image Credit: Ravindranath/Gulf News
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Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Fog blanketed the UAE on Wednesday morning driving temperatures down, but forecasters say Christmas Day will be bright and sunny.

The residents of the capital woke up on Wednesday morning to the shadow of thick fog, reduced visibility and plummeting temperatures.

“When I stepped into the street at 0600 am, I could hardly see the street or even the pavement I was walking on'', Mohan Banju, a labourer with Abu Dhabi Municipality told Gulf News. ''I could not believe my eyes and though I was still sleeping''.

Visibility on the outskirts of the capital was down to 20 metres and as short as 50 metres at the centre of Abu Dhabi. Such reduced visibility prompted the police and emergency services to issue alerts and notices to the public, particularly to motorists, to take extra care when travelling to their work.
Radio stations beamed out messages of alerts and warnings as well as advice on averting accidents. “Abu Dhabi police advises you, dear friends, to travel with care'' one Radio FM announcer said. ''Do not use your car hazard lights, unless in emergencies, when driving on the roads to avoid accidents''.

There were also news of traffic jams and minor accidents on the roads leading out of the capital. The weathermen had already predicted two days ago that such foggy conditions would prevail and warned people to take cautions. Travellers into the capital pointed out the difficulties they had faced to reach their destinations early this morning.

Although the thick fog which had engulfed Abu Dhabi started to ease out and visibility had improved, there are reports of traffic jams on the main roads, like Musaffah and Khalij Arabi, out of the city towards Abu Dhabi airport, Al Ain and Dubai.

In Dubai, the duty forecaster at Dubai Meteorological Office said: “Visibility at the airport was reduced to 1,000 metres on Wednesday but no flights were affected. A widespread thick fog developed in central areas of the UAE early morning and a gradual south-westerly wind slowly moved it towards Jebel Ali and Dubai,'' he said.

He said Christmas Day would be bright and sunny with a maximum temperature of 27 degrees.

The weather will turn cooler tonight with a risk of early morning mist developing on Boxing Day (December 26).

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