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'Everyone looks happy': Dubai rains bring nostalgia, joy to residents

The rainy weather reminds some expats of their hometowns, and gives people a chance to stop and take in the fresh air amidst their busy schedules

Published: Thu 26 Jan 2023, 2:29 PM

Updated: Thu 26 Jan 2023, 4:45 PM

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Photo by M. Sajjad

Photo by M. Sajjad

He knew it was raining cats and dogs outside by Dubai resident Terence Vaz decided not to bring an umbrella on Thursday.

“I didn’t take an umbrella with me, because I didn’t want to jinx the rain!” he quipped, saying that whenever he left home with some covering, the rain would stop.

Vaz, who hails from India, has always loved the rainy season. “I enjoy walking in the rain in the morning. It transports me for a brief moment back home. Everyone looks happy,” he said.

He also said that even with long spells of rain, life goes on in Dubai with taxis and the Metro running on point. “There were no flooded roads in Barsha, where I live,” he added.

Over the past few days, though it was still in the middle of the work week, other residents have consciously made time to pause and enjoy the outdoors — getting some fresh air amidst their busy schedules.

Kirsty Nelson, a South African personal trainer, said she loves the downpour especially because it hardly rains in Dubai. After an early session this morning, she stopped by a nearby beach to take some pictures:

Some residents, like Aliaa Tawfik, see the poetry and magic in the rain. “Rain for me is like a flower that bloom. The season makes me feel calm and I feel happy walking under the rain and going to work,” she said.

She said she loved the smell of the streets, the fresh air and that it reminded her a lot of Alexandria, her hometown. “I miss it during the winter, and I always make sure I take my holidays in the end of the year to be there. It brings back memories of having coffee listening to Fairouz in an outdoor area,” she reminisced, getting slightly emotional.

For Aliaa, this season is perfect for de-stressing and particularly sitting by the sea during the winter. “I almost feel that there’s a conversation happening between the sea and I during the winter. All my negative energy disappears,” she said.

The rain, according to another fellow Alexandrian, Nourhan Salem, makes the air clean and fresh with no dust. “I feel like this weather, rainy and slightly cold reminds of an old English movie,” she said.

Some kids going to school have also not resisted getting themselves wet by the rain. One Dubai resident told us that her children forgot their umbrellas before going to school and came home soaking wet after they “accidentally” fell into a puddle.

A spokesman for the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) told Khaleej Times yesterday that the rainy season, which has seen thunderstorms and even hail in some emirates, will continue till Friday.

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