(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) UAE residents woke up to a foggy Christmas morning on Monday, with some calling it Dubai's very own version of 'a white Christmas'. Visibility continued to be poor on Monday as it was reduced to less than 500 metres on Monday morning.
Sharjah resident and marketing professional Nathan Jacob was on his way to an early morning Christmas mass when he faced a thick blanket of fog. "It was scary driving down the road, however, my children and I joked about it saying that this is Dubai's version of a white Christmas," he said.
However, as predicted by the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), the thick blanket of fog did dissipate a bit after 11am on Monday morning. Dubai and Sharjah residents saw a bit of sun after three days of continuous fog.
Weather to get better on Friday The centre has also predicted that the weather will continue to be foggy for next couple of days. A spokesperson at the NCM told Khaleej Times: "Friday is expected to be slightly less heavy, but the fog situation will continue for the next few days. The NCM has expected the weather to be humid at night and early morning with fog and mist formation over scattered areas, and partly cloudy to fair in general."
According to an official statement, from Wednesday to Friday, it will be humid at night and early morning with a probability of fog and mist formation. "This will be prevalent, especially over the internal and western areas, where opportunities and places of fog formation are gradually decreasing, mainly on Thursday and Friday. The number of clouds will increase at times over the sea and eastern and northern areas during Wednesday and Thursday," the statement added.
Wind will be light to moderate northwesterly to northeasterly, with speed of 15-25kmph, reaching 30kmph at times, with fresh northwesterly winds starting from Tuesday evening, especially toward the west and over the sea, reaching 40kmph.
Traffic police in both Dubai and Sharjah urged all motorists to exert caution while driving through the severe fog by keeping enough distance between vehicles and not using the car's hazard lights except in an emergency. Low-beam lights should also be switched on and indicators are a must when changing lanes.
Flights diverted to RAK Thick fog engulfed most parts of the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah, causing some flight delays. Ten flights have been diverted from the Dubai and Sharjah international airports to the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.
Sanjay Khanna, chief executive officer of the RAK international airport, said eight of these flights are Air Arabia's. "Two others were of SpiceJet and Aeroflot.
"The 10 flights were provided with all the logistic facilities needed, while the passengers of the two flights were transported to Sharjah and Dubai to continue their transit flights."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Etihad Airways said that the company will continue to monitor the adverse weather conditions in Abu Dhabi and have in place contingency plans in the event of further disruption to its operations. "The safety of our guests and crews remains our utmost priority," the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines cancelled two flights from Dubai on Monday, one to Bahrain and the other to Dammam.
After three days of poor visibility while driving, traffic blocks and accidents, facing unforeseen delays at the airport, UAE residents have taken to social media to express their delight and frustrations about the fog in Dubai.
Airline passengers who were stranded on Christmas Eve vented their frustration out on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Emirates airlines and Etihad have been responding to passengers assuring them that things will be taken into control.
Air Arabia has advised its passengers to call on 065580000 to check the status of their flights before arriving to the airport.
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