Foggy weather predicted for the weekend across UAE

High humidity and low winds mean there could be some fog on Friday and Saturday, say the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology

Fog is expected in many parts of the UAE over the weekend. Ravindranath K / The National

The rainy weather is expected to ease over the weekend, although fog is forecast.

On Wednesday there was heavy cloud cover, especially in coastal and northern areas.

There were also strong north-westerly winds, leading to high waves at sea.

Increased humidity overnight and low winds meant the possibility of fog.

Today, the weather is expected to become more settled, with the winds dying down.

However, high humidity could lead to fog tonight and tomorrow morning, forecasters said.

And the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology said that fog could continue over the weekend.

Heavy rainfall earlier this week, the heaviest being in the Northern Emirates, resulted in hundreds of road accidents, some of which were fatal, and also led to 13 people in Ras Al Khaimah having to be rescued by Civil Defence.

One emergency call in RAK came from three women and a child who were confined to a house in Al Dhait as the bad weather struck.

Another involved five women and a child stranded by the rain.

RAK residents also expressed concern that road users appeared to be driving inappropriately given the harsh conditions.

Saleh Al Zaabi said motorists who were reckless in wet conditions with poor visibility risked their lives – and those of other road users.

“Such behaviour is causing great annoyance to everyone else, as it can lead to dangerous accidents,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Sharjah, traffic police said a lower number of registered injuries and accidents was reported during this week’s rainstorm than in previous years.

Brig Abdullah Al Dukhan, deputy director of Sharjah police, said the accidents reported were minor to medium in nature. He encouraged motorists to continue driving carefully during the difficult weather and be patient in the traffic congestion conditions caused on the emirate’s roads.

“Statistics showed that motorists in the emirate are more aware of the dangers during rainstorms. They drove responsibly and safely,” Brig Al Dukhan said.

Traffic police officers, who said there was a small number of offences on the streets during the storm, reported that motorists stopped to assist fellow drivers whose vehicles had broken down.

Last year, during severe rain in February, four people – three of them Emiratis – died when a driver lost control of their vehicle on Al Dhaid Road and hit a lamp post.

The heavy weather conditions sent fish prices soaring after the weather bureau warned fishermen to avoid putting to sea.

Fish prices at Dubai’s Deira market were reported to have doubled as catches fell following a coastguard ban on fishermen setting sail.

However, Ali Al Mansouri, president of the Abu Dhabi Fishermen Societies’ Cooperative Union, said fish prices in Mushrif Mall in the capital were “very reasonable, because we have our own stock and fishing boats”.