Fog Warning

Fog warning issued for Tuesday

Thick fog blanketed most parts of the country for a second day on Tuesday, forcing traffic to a crawl in some areas.

Visibility was poor and motorists were not able to see more than a car’s length ahead. On Al Khail Road in Dubai, visibility was at 50 metres in some areas. 

Dense fog also settled on key roads like Shaikh Zayed Road and Business Bay Crossing. Motorists reported a traffic jam on Al Khail Road towards Sharjah.

On Monday, the situation was worse on some of the highways such as the Al Ain-Abu Dhabi Road.

“Fog had covered everything,” said Mohammad Zaman, a mini-bus driver in Al Ain. The conditions, however, failed to prevent some drivers who were seen driving at high speed. Some of these daredevils also did not use headlights, he said.

A police officer described these drivers as irresponsible, advising them not to put their and others’ lives in danger. “Such conditions are far from ideal for driving and demand more responsible behaviour from road users,” said the officer.

He said foggy conditions demand alert driving at reduced speed with low-beam or fog lights on to increase the visibility of their own cars.

The national weather bureau has a fog forecast for this Tuesday, asking early morning and late night drivers to be careful and alert. Describing fog as a regular seasonal phenomenon, a weatherman said it is the result of low overnight temperatures, humidity and low wind speed.

The conditions are bit warmer this year as last year’s maximum temperature at this time of the year in the internal areas was around 28C. The lowest minimum air temperature was recorded at -0.7C in 2004 at Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah.

The temperature has not yet fallen to that level this year. The lowest temperature recorded this morning in the country was 12.9 degrees Celsius at Jebel Jais, and 15.1C in Al Ain. “This is not unusual,” said a forecaster, adding that it depends on the cyclical change of weather patterns.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said thick fog covered most of the country on Monday. Horizontal visibility dropped to 300 metres at Dubai airport, 250 metres at Abu Dhabi airport, 100 metres in Liwa, Al Buteen, Khalifa City, 400 metres in Jebel Ali and 50 metres in Al Daffara. There was, however, no fog downtown in Al Ain but dense fog was reported on the Al Ain-Abu Dhabi Road.

According to the NCMS, the temperature will gradually rise all over the emirates, reaching 33 degrees Celsius in most of the internal areas. It will be a few degrees lower in the coastal areas where it will be 28 degrees Celcius. Fair weather is expected in the next 48 hours with the possibility of clouds in some areas.