As heat finally breaks, UAE switches back on. Time to seize the season

I’ve brought one big British tradition with me to the UAE: Talking about the weather on an hourly basis. Recently, that has mainly been me pestering colleagues with questions such as ‘can it get any hotter?’, ‘how is it so humid but it doesn’t rain?’ and ‘when will it end!?’.

Thankfully, we’re reaching the tipping point when thermometers start to go down rather than up (although we have to get through this unbearable humidity first) and we should all get excited about what is to come next.

The energy is definitely back. It feels like someone has flicked the UAE switch back on during the last week. The schools are filling up, the roads are getting busier and the diaries are filling with meetings. The cogs are fully turning.

My mornings are now a blur of chasing children with toothbrushes, scrambling for breakfast, squirting hair gel everywhere and trying to find that missing shoe. The kids are back at school and I’ve never been so happy for the rush, traffic queues and a full car park.

 The ‘surprise’ homework that is remembered five minutes before bedtime has felt a bit more painful, but I can accept it. It’s a sign that something much bigger has happened: normal life has returned. And when I say normal, it actually feels rather special when you live here.

 Across the country, the events calendar is beginning to fill up again. Conferences, exhibitions, concerts, sporting events, festivals and all the other things that make the UAE such an energetic place are returning as we head towards the final months of the year. As a sports fan, I’ve got the golf, rugby, basketball and F1 firmly pencilled into my diary, and I’m even tempted by the sumo wrestling in Abu Dhabi - hakkeyoi!

And then there is business, with September being something of a reset button in the UAE for many industries. The summer holidays end, people return from overseas, companies get serious about the final quarter and those meetings that were repeatedly described as “better to do after the summer” suddenly become unavoidable (note to self, don’t do that next year).

The encouraging news is that there are signs of genuine momentum behind the optimism. We have reported on how the UAE’s non-oil private sector has recorded its fastest growth since December 2024, helping boost sentiment across the region. That really matters right now.

We all know confidence encourages businesses to invest, while giving people the incentive to spend, travel, attend events and make plans. It encourages companies to hire and families to look forward rather than constantly worrying about what might happen next.

Of course, nobody should pretend that everything is perfect. We have all been through a difficult period and there are still plenty of uncertainties around us. But that is also precisely why a little positivity matters. Mindset determines our actions. Let’s be confident about what the following weeks hold for us all.

The UAE has built much of its success on looking forward rather than looking back. It’s a place of action as well as ideas. Some of the people I have met astound me with their intellect but even more so with their sheer drive to make something work. We all need a bit of that right now to make this year one to remember for the right reasons.

I’ve been given a lot of great advice since moving here some 19 months ago. One piece comes to mind from last September that is very relevant now: “Make the most of the season as it goes faster than you think”. They were right and I learnt my lesson.

So, let’s book that dinner and plan that weekend away. Let’s go to that event we have never been to or make that trip that has been on our bucket list for years. Go and start that business venture or finally have that meeting you always needed. 

Sometimes the best thing we can do is just to embrace the moment and get on with enjoying it.