Clone of UAE reels for a third day after record-breaking storm
In Dubai, operations at the airport, a major travel hub, remain disrupted after Tuesday's storm flooded the runway, resulting in flight diversions, delays and cancellations.
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Authorities have also told government employees and students to stay home while waterlogged roads are cleared.
Climate experts say rising temperatures caused by human-led climate change are leading to more extreme weather events around the world, such as the storm that struck the UAE and Oman.
"It's likely that the storm was kind of supercharged by climate change because there's just more moisture available in the air for any storm system to then precipitate out," said Colleen Colja, a climate scientist at Imperial College London.
Researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region. The problem can be worsened in countries like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains.
A UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding - a process of manipulating clouds to increase rainfall - denied that any such operations took place before the storm.
The UAE state news agency late on Wednesday carried a statement from President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan saying he had ordered authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by the storm.
