The floods that hit the Northern Emirates recently had tragic consequences, killing seven people and forcing thousands into temporary shelters.
In recent weeks other parts of the Middle East also faced the worst effects of flooding, including Iran, where at least 80 people were killed in late July.
This came only three years after heavy rains in southern Iran caused the deaths of 76 people and an estimated $2 billion worth of damage.
In parts of the Middle East and North Africa, rainfall is becoming concentrated in shorter bursts, even if overall levels are often decreasing, said Dr Nasser Karami, a researcher in Norway who analyses the region's climate.
Added to this, he said, are the effects of development, with buildings constructed in areas that are prone to flooding.
“So the possibility of floods occurring has increased, and the possibility of damage from floods has increased,” he said.
“Big damage from flooding in the Middle East previously was about once per 10 years. Now it's every year.”
Global issue
Look further afield and a similar picture is seen.
In Seoul, the South Korean capital, rain recently fell at the fastest rate since records began more than a century ago, killing 13 people, some of whom were trapped in basements.
Parts of the Philippines, including the capital, Manila, and the island of Cebu, have been under as many as 1.2 metres of water this month.
Meanwhile, Death Valley in California not long ago experienced, in just a few hours, 43mm of rainfall, almost as much as falls in an average year.
It is no wonder that palm trees were uprooted and dozens of cars were swept away and ended up partially buried in debris.
While extreme weather events and flooding are nothing new, experts say the disturbances caused by climate change mean they are happening more often.
One reason is that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture: a 1°C average temperature rise increases the amount of moisture by about seven per cent.
“That's basic physics,” said Bob Ward, of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, part of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“When it does rain, you tend to get heavier rainfall, which can lead to river flooding and surface-water flooding.”
As well as intensifying rainfall, climate change is causing some storms to move more slowly, so more rain falls on a particular area and flash floods become more likely.
Research published last year by Newcastle University and the University of Bristol in the UK suggested that “slow-moving intense rainstorms” could be 14 times more common in Europe by the end of the century if little was done to reduce emissions.
An unwelcome preview of this was seen in July 2021, when lingering storms meant that Germany, Belgium and other European nations suffered devastating flooding that killed nearly 250 people.
Multiple factors
There are many other ways in which floods are becoming more of a risk in particular environments.
In some mountainous regions, such as the Appalachians of eastern and north-eastern North America, several factors are at play.
As well as an upward trend in intensity, researchers have found that more precipitation is in the form of rain, which is more likely than snow to cause flooding.
In addition, wildfires are more frequent because of climate change, and they increase the risk of mudslides and debris flows when there is heavy rain.
Vulnerable seaside populations
For coastal areas, sea-level rises caused by climate change increase the risk of floods, especially due to storm surges. Building higher and stronger sea defences can protect some, but not all, areas.
“This may be economically viable where you have concentrations of population, such as cities,” Mr Ward said. “But in less populated areas there will have to be a calculation as to whether it's worth staying there or giving up coastal population to rising sea levels.
“There are many parts of the world where we're starting to get these conversations.”
Many coastal cities, such as New Orleans, Mumbai and Shanghai, are built on river deltas, which makes them especially vulnerable.
Cities are often at risk of flooding because large areas of the ground are made from impermeable materials that do not allow the water to soak in, but things can be done to make them more resilient.
Individual buildings can be protected by what the industry calls property flood resilience measures.
These may consist of aperture barriers, such as waterproof metal barriers in front of external doors, to prevent water entering.
Another approach is to design buildings in such a way that, if they are flooded, damage is reduced. Mr Ward highlights measures such as using tiles, which will not be spoilt if water gets into a room, and placing electrical sockets higher up. It may also be preferable for the electrics to run down from the ceiling rather than up from the ground.
On a wider level, and among many other measures, governments may have to invest in improved drainage systems so that, when rains come, more water escapes.
“You have cities like London with Victorian drainage, which cannot cope,” Mr Ward said. “You need to overhaul the drainage system.”
As the world struggles to meet greenhouse gas emission targets that would limit average temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, extreme rainfall events are set to become ever more common, and sea levels are forecast to continue to rise.
“The climate is changing because we've altered the atmosphere in a way we haven't seen in more than one million years,” Mr Ward said. “There's going to be lots of nasty shocks because of this.”
Mobile phone packages comparison
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Bullet%20Train
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Leitch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Brad%20Pitt%2C%20Aaron%20Taylor-Johnson%2C%20Brian%20Tyree%20Henry%2C%20Sandra%20Bullock%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
