Dubai is bracing for biblical rainfall much like storms that brought the town to its knees last 12 months.
There are fears that many foreigners, including tens of hundreds of British people, won’t give you the chance to get home for Christmas consequently of heavy downpours.
Flash floods swamped Dubai Airport in April 2024. If the identical happens again, an untold variety of flights may very well be delayed or cancelled.
December temperatures in Dubai normally range from 20°C to twenty-eight°C. But as a storm sweeps across Gaza and the western side of the Arabian peninsula, the Emirates’ sunny outlook could turn.
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What’s the weather forecast for Dubai?
Rain is forecast to hit Dubai within the early hours of tomorrow, with a thunderstorm expected to reach later within the morning.
The rain is about to worsen Thursday night, with torrential downpours expected on Friday. By Saturday, the weather is predicted to enhance.
Jim Dale, a meteorologist who founded British Weather Services, told Metro that the worst of the storm appears to be moving across the northern Middle East, bypassing Dubai.
But he warned that ‘thundery downpours’ could hit on Thursday and Friday.
‘You might be within the a part of the world where you do get flash floods, and they arrive out of the blue.
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‘People may not take the warnings seriously because they’re in a pleasant warm temperature, but suddenly the sky goes black and you would possibly get 50-60mm of rain.’
He continued: ‘The thrust of that low pressure area goes to the north of Middle East relatively than the south, so that you will likely be seeing scattered thunderstorms, but they’ll still do damage. The situation must be watched.’
Jim said it’s unlikely we are going to see Dubai Airport flooded like last 12 months, although there’s at all times ‘every likelihood’ when heavy showers occur suddenly.
Some locals have insisted rain is on the way in which because the Gulf city ‘doesn’t feel like Dubai.’
Elle Starkos, an Australian living within the UAE capital, said: ‘It’s cold. It’s windy. It’s grey.
‘I swear…it’s here. It’s gonna rain in Dubai.’
Concern is growing that the 2024 flooding and disruption may very well be repeated during considered one of the busiest travel seasons if the storm dumps rain over the UAE.
Town’s municipality has issued safety guidelines for residents ahead of the unstable conditions.
Residents are urged to remove or secure balcony furniture that may very well be blown away, avoid using outdoor drains to maintain them clear for rainwater and avoid walking near trees and construction sites in case of sudden gusts of wind, or wading through floodwater.
Winter storm wreaks havoc in Gaza
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Jim said the storm has caused ‘distressing’ damage in Gaza, which has a distinct climate attributable to its Mediterranean location.
Winter storms have devastated tents and houses within the besieged enclave, deepening the humanitarian crisis for displaced Palestinians amid aid restrictions imposed by Israel.
Mazen al‑Najjar, the mayor of the town of Jabalia, warned that ‘the weather depression got here as displaced people were already living in catastrophic conditions.’
No less than 14 people died in a winter storm in Gaza last week, while over 53,000 tents housing refugees were flooded.
A baby reportedly died from cold, and one other person was killed when a constructing collapsed.
How common is rain in Dubai?
Extreme weather – like flooding in a desert and longer and warmer heatwaves gripping Europe – can also be increasingly common attributable to climate change.
Dubai can also be prone to experience more intense spells of utmost weather, including sandstorms and extreme summer temperatures commonly reaching 50°C, Jim warned.
Because the start of the millennium, United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region has seen an over 18% rise in rainfall, in response to official figures from the Gulf cooperation organisation.
Experts predict average temperatures could increase by around 1.7°Cwithin just a number of years.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
Based on the Civil Aviation Authority, UK and EU airlines must take care of you in case your flight is delayed or cancelled.
This includes all the things from meals and accommodation to another flight if needed.
Citizen’s Advice says that airlines must also give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails and, in the event that they give you a spot to remain, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.
Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers on the airport. When doubtful, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airline.
But an airline will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses. The hotel minibar or penthouse suites likely can’t be expensed.
In the event you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to ascertain their terms and conditions. Nevertheless, for essentially the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
When am I eligible for this support?
Whether you’re eligible for the above depends upon the space of your flight and the way long you’ve gotten waited:
- For brief-haul (as much as 1,500km over two hours or less) it’s essential to have been waiting for 2 hours or more.
- For medium-haul (between 1,500km and three,500km over two to 4 hours) it’s three hours or more.
- For long-haul (greater than 3,500km over 4 hours or more) it’s 4 hours or more.
If my flight is cancelled, can I get a refund?
In case your flight is roofed by UK law, you possibly can choose from either getting your cancelled flight refunded or being booked on another route.
Any a part of your ticket you haven’t used is eligible for a refund. So, should you were on a return flight to Heathrow, for instance, and the outbound leg was cancelled, you possibly can get that a part of the journey refunded.
You’ll typically get your a reimbursement inside per week.
But not everyone seems to be up for being stuck mid-layover. In the event you still need to travel, your airline must discover a method to get you to your destination.
This may include, say, if one other airliner is flying to where it’s worthwhile to go soon or if there’s one other type of transport you possibly can take. All at no extra cost.
Can I get any extra compensation?
What the law calls ‘extraordinary circumstances’ can include a hearth, bird strikes, defects with a plane, or bad weather.
But none of those entitles impacted passengers to extra compensation, consumer watchdog Which? says. They’re largely considered outside the airline’s control.
In other circumstances, nonetheless, it’s a distinct story. You will have several rights under the law in case your journey is impacted by staff shortages, airline staff walkouts or in case your flight was delayed because bad weather delayed a previous flight.
What you’re entitled to depends upon the reason behind the cancellation and the way much notice the airline gave you.
This may range from £220 for short-haul flights, £350 for mid-haul and £520 for long-haul.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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