Al Ain: Foggy mornings are returning again to parts of the emirates as contrasting day and night temperature, with conducive conditions for fog, are likely to hit the country.
The national weather bureau and Gulf News readers have reported heavy fog early Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, Al Mafriq, Al Wathba, Madinat Zayed, and Ruwais areas. The conditions were clear in Dubai and northern emirates.
Traffic was crawling on some of the external roads in Abu Dhabi in the morning and the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said visibility had dropped down to 100 meters. The centre also issued low visibility for motorists.
Forecasters said mercury is likely to drop from today and tomorrow (rain is also expected in the northern and eastern emirates). According to the NCMS forecast for today, weather will be partly cloudy in general, becoming cloudy at times especially over the northern and the eastern areas, with a chance of some rain.
The NCMS said this fall will be gradual and significant in the daytime temperature especially in the western region Abu Dhabi. Winds will also be moderately rough, becoming strong over the sea. They are also likely to kick up dust and sand over land. There could be dusty condition due to the suspension of fine dust particles in the air.
Joyriders and fishermen have also been warned of the rough waters in the Arabian Gulf. The sea will be rough to very rough in general, said the forecast.
According to the NCMS, air temperature decreases substantially in December. The lowest minimum air temperature reached was recorded -0.7°C in 2004 at Jabal Jais in Ras Al Khaimah.
There is a probability of fog during this month, said the NCMS, adding that the average humidity remains around 66 per cent but it reaches up to 100 per cent sometimes at night and early morning especially over the coast and some internal areas. This leads to the formation of fog and mist over those areas.
Clouds also accumulate at times during this month with chance of rain over scattered parts of the country. The highest accumulated rainfall amount during this month is 325.2 mm, recorded in 1995 at Fujairah International Airport.
Although the average wind speed remains around 12 km/h, but it increases during thunderstorms to about 45 km/h or more. The northerly winds speed increase over the Arabian Gulf reaching up to 60 km/h or more. This leads to rough sea with waves as high as eight feet, said the NCMS.
