December 20, 2025 | 11:15 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) airport authorities canceled or delayed dozens of flights, while roads were flooded in major cities due to the heaviest rainstorm in recent months that hit the desert country on Friday.
As reported by Al Arabiya, Emirates airline canceled 13 flights on Friday, and there were also delays and cancellations at the nearby Sharjah airport. This followed overnight downpour, which woke residents with flashes of lightning and loud thunder.
Sharjah's main street was completely flooded on Friday morning, with residents seen walking through the floodwaters. A man rode his bicycle through water that reached the top of his wheels.
The scene was reminiscent of April 2024, when heavy rains caused widespread flooding and forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights at Dubai's main international airport.
On Thursday, Dubai police urged residents to stay indoors unless “absolutely necessary” as the rainstorm approached.
On Friday morning, water pump trucks were seen around Dubai clearing blocked roads and large puddles on the streets.
The Dubai Airport website showed dozens of flights delayed on Friday, with some canceled. “Some flights... are cancelled or delayed due to adverse weather,” a Dubai Airport spokesperson said.
The National Meteorological Center had warned of rain across the country from Thursday to Friday, including in Dubai and the capital Abu Dhabi.
Heavy rain also lashed other Gulf nations, including Qatar, where the Arab Cup third-place match between Saudi Arabia and the UAE was canceled on Thursday.
Last year's heavy rains in the UAE, the heaviest since records began 76 years ago, killed at least four people and paralyzed Dubai for several days.
A study published by the World Weather Attribution group found that global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions “most likely” exacerbated the heavy rains that hit the UAE and Oman last year.
Read: Aceh Leaders Confirm No Foreign Aid Received Yet Following Floods
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