Dubai: Raindrops as far as 200 kilometres away can now be detected in the UAE, thanks to a new radar technology now being used in Dubai.
With the recently launched Meteorological Radar project, Dubai Municipality’s radar can not only pinpoint rainclouds but also identify the types of thunderstorms and its time of occurrence and direction.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said the project was implemented as part of the development of the early warning system for weather forecasting, in addition to monitoring climate change and its impact on all regions in the emirate of Dubai.
The meteorologists can then analyse radar observations, and predict the passage of a storm over a certain area. In many cases, they can also give advance warnings about the path of cyclones, whirlwinds, severe storms, and cloud direction, in addition to the location and intensity of a downpour.
In coordination with Sky Dive Dubai, the meteorological radar was installed at the Fly Dubai building on Dubai - Al Ain Road, mainly because the building has the best contour height to get a 360-degree circular coverage of all areas of Dubai for achieving the optimum radar range.
Eman Al Khatibi, Head of Geodetic and Marine Survey Department, Dubai Municipality, said: "The Meteorological Radar Project highlights the continuous development of the weather forecasting system of Najm Suhail, one of the best meteorological systems used for technology at the regional level."
Najm Suhail is a weather monitoring and forecasting app that was launched by Dubai Municipality.
HE Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, DG of Dubai Municipality launches #Najm_Suhail application and unveils the #Weather_Radar pic.twitter.com/3x0r0go5Dm
— بلدية دبي (@DMunicipality) May 2, 2017
"Through its development, Dubai Municipality strives to provide and maintain sustainability in public safety with the best services to the public and partners," said Al Khatibi.
