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UAE’s lowest temperature dips to 16°C: Have you felt the evening, morning chills?

Is it winter yet? Top official from National Centre of Meteorology explains relatively cool weather that the country has been seeing

The autumn season will continue for two more months in the UAE even as chilly evenings and misty mornings are being experienced by residents.

That’s according to Dr Ahmed Habib from the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), who on Thursday told Khaleej Times, “Relatively cool weather and that nip in the air will continue across the country with chances of fog formation in certain areas.”

“We are still in the autumn season. The temperature at night is coming down and some people may feel relatively cold, but it’s not winter yet. The minimum temperature recording now is between 23 to 27 degrees Celsius. But during winter this goes down further.”

Explaining the autumn temperature transition between summer heat and winter cold where the weather gets better, becoming warm and humid at night with high temperatures during the day, he adds: “During the autumn season, temperature decreases naturally. So, the winter season starts from December 23 and that’s when autumn ends. We still have two more months of the autumn season.”

“Presently, Rakhna areas in Al Ain recorded the lowest temperature of 16 degrees Celsius today (Thursday). But this area has some unique characteristics and is a bit different to other parts of the UAE. So, the temperature there is always lower as compared to other areas in the country.”

Elucidating on the factors that lead to this scenario, he says, “The area is affected by certain conditions like wind speed and humidity among others. Rakhna is not mountainous, it’s an open area but due to the said factors temperature there is lower. The area also has a lot of trees and Easterly and South easterly winds impact and lead to the fall in temperatures there. Generally, the mountainous regions like Jebel Jais record the lowest temperatures during winter months.”

This (autumn) season experiences high relative humidity in the morning with temperatures remaining high during the day and fog formation during early morning hours.

Habib points out, “Over the next one week, the UAE we will see stable weather conditions. We’ll witness humidity increasing at night and there are chances of fog formation in certain areas. The maximum temperature in the country during the daytime, in general, will be between 35-41 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature will be between 22 to 27 degrees Celsius.”

How the climate transitions in October

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) in its monthly climate report earlier stated that the month of October is characterised by a significant decrease in temperatures and rapid changes in weather conditions as the country changes from summer to winter.

“October is one of the second transitional period months between summer and winter, this period is usually characterised by sharp and rapid changes in weather conditions, in which temperatures begin to decrease significantly especially during the second half of this month compared to September,” the NCM said in the report.

“Southeasterly winds prevail during late nights and mornings, becoming northwesterly during afternoons and evenings due to effect of the land/sea breeze circulation.”

During October, relative humidity is usually high in the early morning, gradually decreasing as the sun appears, then increases again after sunset, according to forecasters.

The mean relative humidity in October will reach approximately 51 per cent, with more chances of fog formation, especially during mid-nights and early morning periods.

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