Al Ain: Thick fog blanketed Abu Dhabi, Dubai and parts of the northern emirates on Sunday morning, severely reducing visibility for motorists during the morning rush hour and disrupting more than a dozen flights.
Traffic crawled on Abu Dhabi-Dubai Road and in surrounding areas. Conditions were, however, clear in inland areas such as Al Ain. A forecaster said visibility was down to 100 metres at Abu Dhabi airport and almost zero in other areas between 6am and 8am.
At least 14 Etihad flights into Abu Dhabi International Airport were diverted to other airports in the UAE on Sunday morning due to unexpected fog, the airline said in a statement.
The flights were diverted to Al Ain, Al Bateen and Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE. As a result, Etihad is anticipating delays to departures for the rest of the day.
Residents in Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and other northern emirates also reported morning fog. It was blinding in the mountainous areas of Ras Al Khaimah.
Forecasters said that low wind speed, high humidity, and low temperatures at night generated the fog. The weather on Sunday was clear and conditions gradually became hotter, reaching 38 degrees Celsius in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other coastal areas and hitting 43C in Al Ain.
According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the temperature will gradually rise all over the UAE. Fair weather is expected in the next 48 hours with the possibility of some scattered cloud.
The centre also warned that humidity levels would rise at night and early in the morning in some coastal and northern areas. The sea will be slightly to moderately rough in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
The minimum and maximum temperature will remain between 22 to 38C in coastal areas, 18C to 48C inland, and from 15C to 27C in mountainous areas.
