Weather to remain around 45°C in Abu Dhabi

Despite very less rainfall and the indirect El Nino effect from the Indian Subcontinent, maximum day temperatures in August will not exceed the usual limit in the UAE, a senior expert in Abu Dhabi said. Sunday and Monday will be hot in general and very hot and hazy over some areas. The amount of clouds will increase over some eastern and southern areas, with towering clouds over some of these areas. Winds will be moderate in general, freshening at times and blowing dust/sand, the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said. Sea will be moderate and may become rough at times on Sunday, the Met office said. Chairman of Adco Astronomy Club and member of Abu Dhabi Heritage Group Mohamed Talib Al Salami told The Gulf Today that the maximum day temperatures would remain between 40 and 45 °C and would not show any usual increase in the remaining summer season, as reported in some quarters of the local media. Saturday’s maximum temperature recorded in Sharjah was only 41.5 °C, according to local Met office sources. There were alarming reports that July was the hottest month in the past nine years and the hottest day temperature so far in the history of Sharjah was 49.3 °C recorded on July 25. This was 0.1° more than the nearest maximum recorded at 49.2 °C 34 years ago in 1978, according to Sharjah Met sources. However, Al Salami said that there were several parameters that constituted local weather conditions such as no rain in the past year and the heat of the water mass around the peninsula etc. “The El Nino effect which has been reported to have caused very less rain during the current monsoon season in the Indian Subcontinent, also has an indirect effect on the local weather pattern,” he said. El Niño or La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasi-periodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. It refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (warming and cooling known as El Niño and La Niña respectively) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected. India’s weather office forecast that the El Nino weather pattern should reduce rains again in the second half of June to September season. It is already experiencing around 40 per cent less rain during the current monsoon season, according to weathermen in that country. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said rains over the entire June to September season were now expected to be less than 90 per cent of long-term averages. This is the first time it has forecast deficient rains at this point in the season. “This phenomenon across the Arabian Sea will indirectly affect the local climate. The water mass in the Arabian Sea will be hotter during the season and the wind sweeping this water will also get hotter,” Al Salami said. Since humidity and heat are closely related, the effect will be maximised, he added. Sharjah recorded a maximum 65 per cent humidity on Saturday morning and it went down to 41 per cent by the afternoon. Saturday’s minimum was 34 per cent. The percentage of humidity varied in the past days when hot and dry winds from the desert side swept the land mass, weather experts said. In some other internal areas, maximum day temperatures went up to 49 °C, NCMS, said According to the NCMS, Saturday was hot in general and very hot over some western areas. It was also hazy during the daytime and there were some towering clouds over some eastern areas. The horizontal visibility was also reduced at times. East to southeasterly winds over most coastal areas were light to moderate and became north to north-easterly by afternoon. In the internal areas, wind speed will be 20-25 knots and may reach 35 at times. From:Gulftoday