Originally Published: 02 MAY 24 13:00 GMT
By Mostafa Salem, Abbas Al Lawati and Angela Dewan, CNN
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Emirates was forced to cancel and delay several flights in and out of Dubai, the second-busiest international airport in the world, while people and students were instructed to work and study from home, as heavy rains returned to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
The storm comes just two weeks after record-setting rainfall triggered damaging floods in several parts of the country and neighboring Oman, which killed at least four people in the UAE and ground the bustling city of Dubai to a halt.
Video images from the coastal UAE city of Ras Al-Khaimah, shared with CNN, showed palm trees bending in strong winds on Thursday as heavy rains lashed roads and lightning illuminated the sky.
The rainfall was not as heavy as the event two weeks ago, but Dubai experienced 20 millimeters in 12 hours, more than twice what it usually receives over the months of April and May combined. Abu Dhabi saw 34 mm in 24 hours, more than four times what it would usually see over April and May.
Authorities ordered remote working and studying in affected areas on Thursday and Friday. Roads to valley areas prone to flooding were closed off, while people were asked to stay away from mountainous, desert and sea areas.
Scientists linked the record rainfall that hit the UAE and Oman two weeks ago to climate change. A team of 21 scientists and researchers, under the World Weather Attribution initiative, found that climate change was making extreme rainfall events in the two countries — which typically fall during El Niño years — between 10 and 40% more intense than they would have been without global warming.
CNN’s Brandon Miller contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
More Stories
Charity uplifting young talent in Bush Hall
Masters Classic set to kick off
Guyana All-Stars arrive for Windfall Festival