Autumn starts on Sunday: UAE weather to change?
Astronomers say this year’s autumnal equinox will fall on September 23, marking the first day of autumn
Dubai: The UAE has come out of its notoriously hot summer season, and during the last few weeks, has gradually become cooler with maximum temperatures dropping to 35C.
But how likely is the UAE weather expected to change once the autumnal equinox starts?
The word “equinox” comes from the Latin word equi, meaning “equal” and nox, meaning “night”. It marks the two events of the year, in March and September, when the sun is exactly above the equator and the day and night are of equal length.
Ebrahim Al Jarwan, General Supervisor at Sharjah Planetarium, said that according to astronomical calculations, the autumnal equinox will fall on Sunday, September 23 – it always takes place from September 22 to September 24.
Al Jarwan explained that at the beginning of the autumnal equinox, the number of hours at night is equal to daylight hours.
“But then the hours in the day start to reduce while the hours at night become longer, until we reach the shortest day of the year on December 22,” he said.
Even though autumn will officially start, it won’t be until the beginning of October before residents will notice a change in temperature.
The Abu Dhabi-based National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said that the weather on Thursday will be an average of 26C - 33C in coastal areas, 25C - 35C in internal areas and 23C - 27C in the mountain region.
— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) September 20, 2018
The maximum level of humidity across the country will range from 75 to 85 per cent in coastal areas, with fog and mist formation expected in the far west.
According to the NCM forecast, the weather during the weekend will remain fair in general with some low clouds in the eastern coast.
On September 23 and 24, southwesterly winds will become northwesterly to northeasterly by the afternoon, with a speed ranging from 15 to 25 km/h, which will reach up to 35 km/h.
The relative humidity is likely to increase during night and early morning over some coastal areas.
The sea will continue with calm to moderate waves in the Arabian Gulf and in the Oman Sea.