United Arab Emirates (UAE) encountered a remarkable downpour on Tuesday, April 16, with the heaviest rainfall in the past 24 hours ever recorded since data collection began in 1949.
According to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), the highest precipitation was documented in the “Khatm Al Shakla” area in Al Ain, measuring an astonishing 254 mm within less than 24 hours.
The NCM’s Shuwaib station had previously registered 287.6 mm on March 9, 2016.
The UAE faced numerous challenges in managing the adverse weather conditions.However, both authorities and residents collaborated effectively to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
The NCM affirmed that the record-breaking rainfall witnessed in the country over the past 24 hours until 9 pm on Tuesday, April 16, is an extraordinary occurrence in the UAE’s climate history since the commencement of climate data recording. Furthermore, it is anticipated that larger amounts of rainfall will be recorded in the hours to come.
This heavy downpour stands as an exceptional event in the UAE, contributing to an increase in the annual rainfall average and fortifying the nation’s groundwater reserves as a whole.
The unstable weather conditions, attributed to an extension of a “low surface pressure,” affected the country from Monday onwards. On Tuesday, two waves of unsettled weather swept across the UAE.