Weather you’re driving or just walking around…

If you were driving along the UAE capital’s Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street (the “140 road” that gets you from the city to Yas) yesterday, you’d have noticed terrible visibility and sweeping, sandy gusts throughout the day.

The evening prior, sudden strong winds took over certain areas in the capital, with weather updates stating the temperature would dip by as many as 8 degrees Celsius on May 7 (yesterday).

As of this morning, the National Council for Meteorlogy (NCM) have put out an update that “fresh to strong Northwesterly winds reaching 45 km/h, causing blowing and suspended dust and sand reducing the horizontal visibility to less than 3000m over most of exposed areas” are to be expected today in Abu Dhabi, from 10.50am until 7pm.

Image: NCM, unsplash

While the NCM’s weather map illustrates Liwa, Habshan, Mirfa and Ruwais as the heaviest hit areas today (marked in yellow above), anyone that was out and about in the heart of Abu Dhabi yesterday would’ve noticed city-dwellers weren’t spared from the blowing dust either.

All that said, residents are advised to exercise caution while outside, to plan outdoor activities ahead and drive carefully with the key focus on safety.

To clearer days…