Syed Shayaan Bakht, Staff Reporter
Heavy rain, witnessed in several parts of Dubai and Sharjah, brought down the temperature by a few notches on Friday.
This year, the rain was an early present staring the New Year celebrations in the UAE.
Rain of different intensity, accompanied by lightning and thunder lashed separate areas, intermittent fog was formed, due to weather fluctuations, as the region was affected by a superficial air depression from the northeast accompanied by air depression and a cold air mass in the upper layers of the atmosphere, causing the flow of quantities of steam, according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).
Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Umm Al Quwain, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah experienced good rain.
Residents shared hundreds of rain videos on social media along with their celebrations.
It is believed that the rain was result of cloud seeding.
NCM called for caution while driving during rains, and with the lack of horizontal visibility, due to rains and dusty winds and advised to stay away from places of water gathering and the flow of valleys.
Abu Dhabi Police called on drivers to adhere to a speed of 80 km during the formation of fog and to leave a sufficient safety distance.
The Traffic and Patrols Directorate also warned drivers of heavy vehicles and buses not to drive during fog, stating that the fine of driving at times of fog is Dhs500 and 4 traffic points, based on the Ministerial Resolution 178 of 2017.