Strong winds set to kick up dust across nation

Dubai: Near gale force winds will churn up dust in the desert and open areas starting today and the weather man warns anglers and sailing enthusiasts not to venture out to sea as the waters will be very choppy.

A marine warning was issued late on Friday as very strong North-Westerly winds of nearly 60 kilometres per hour are expected which will whip waves of between 10 to 12 feet offshore, said Dr S.K. Gupta, duty forecaster at the Dubai Met Office. "Fishing, cruising is totally ruled out," he said.

Forecast

It will also not be pleasant on the beaches as the winds will further drop temperatures down to 22 degrees Celsius till Monday. It will be partly cloudy but there is no significant rain, except for a 'few drops' in the northern parts of the country.

With winds blowing in, there is no chance of any early morning or late night fog. The dense fog was the result of the dramatic drop in temperature in the desert to seven degrees Celsius and absolutely no winds, Gupta said.

"Fog is not uncommon this time of the year. We have once had nine consecutive days of fog," he said. The Met Office had given early warnings and most airlines had rescheduled their flights.

But the thick fog had reduced visibility down to 50 metres and many planes had to just sit on the tarmac and could not take off in the morning.

Hotline

Dubai met office has set up a hotline (04 2162218) for weather updates. Updates are expected every six hours.