Dubai: Autumn has officially started.
The autumnal equinox falls on September 22, which indicates that the first day of fall has arrived.
Derived from Latin, the word "equinox" means "equal night," which is when night and day are nearly exactly the same length – 12 hours – all over the world.
While the change of the season should also mark the beginning of the cooler temperatures, local weather forecasters predict that we might have to wait until the beginning of October to feel a significant change.
But its not all bad news.
“As of Saturday, the temperatures will start to gradually cool down and there will be generally less humidity,” Dr Ahmad Habib, a meteorologist at the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), told Gulf News.
“The drop in temperature will not be sudden but we can expect a gradual decline during the last week of September and into the month of October,” he said.
Dr Habib explained that over the weekend, residents can expect hot to relatively hot weather during the day, it will become relatively cooler as northwesterly winds are expected to pick up speed, particularly near the coastline.
— UAE WEATHER (@NCMS_media) September 22, 2016
With the gradual change in weather, motorists are urged to exercise caution while driving as the chance of fog is expected to increase over the next few weeks.
“We will also have a chance of some convective clouds formation over the eastern areas by afternoon, with a probability of fog and mist forming in the early morning and at night,” he said, with minimum temperatures at 27 and 34 degrees Celsius over the mountain and coastal areas respectively.
