Actual footage of the sky in Dubai turning green after the massive flood.
Source: X | Mister J
Recently, social media was shocked with videos and images showing a massive flood happening in Dubai. The situation can be described as very intense, especially considering Dubai is one of the driest regions in the world.
This flood occurred due to heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, submerging cars, highways, and claiming at least 21 lives. Moreover, flights in and out of Dubai airport were also disrupted due to the flood.
In the country, heavy rain seldom happens but that doesn’t mean it never occurs.
According to United Arab Emirates authorities, the 24-hour rainfall last Tuesday was the largest in the country since 1949. However, some areas in the country experienced thunderstorms last month.
Oman, located along the Arabian Sea coast, is also exposed to tropical weather. Storms, heavy rain, strong winds, and landslides caused significant damage.
The severe flood in Dubai wasn’t caused by the amount of rain but by what happens when the rain hits the ground and areas with inhabitants.
Cities like Dubai weren’t built to effectively drain water. Due to infrequent heavy rains, drainage systems were not designed to handle extremely heavy rainfall. So, the drains there couldn’t cope with a large amount of water, resulting in floods.
One study shows that due to rapid development in Dubai over the past decade and a half, the city has become more vulnerable to floods compared to before.
Not only that, there were viral videos showing the sky in Dubai turning green after the massive flood. However, heavy rains hitting Dubai isn’t unusual as weather forecasters had already predicted storms for several days.
A 23-second time-lapse video showed how the gray sky in Dubai turned green as the rain intensified.
This natural phenomenon surprised many netizens, with some even speculating it as a sign of tornadoes or hailstorms to come.
But actually, the sky turning green during a storm is a natural phenomenon called virescence. It occurs when the blue light reflection from rain merges with the reddish hue during sunset, causing the sky to turn green.
A common belief is that ice in the storm helps scatter light and make the cumulonimbus clouds appear green. The more hail and rain in the storm cloud, the greener the sky becomes.
Flight companies in Dubai have resumed their flight schedules as usual. For your information, Dubai International Airport is the second busiest airport in the world. So, you can imagine how crowded the airport gets when all flights are canceled.
