DUBAI // Beaches across the emirate remained open in today’s strong winds, however beachgoers have been asked to exercise caution and abide by the flag system.
Ahmad Abdul Karim, director of the Public Parks department which runs Jumeirah Open beach, Mamzar Beach, Jumeirah Beach Park and Mamzar Park, confirmed they have not closed any of the beaches. “We would only close the beaches if there was a crisis or some type of environmental disaster.”
“We have rescue personnel raising flags at the beaches every morning that inform people about the water conditions,” he continued. “A red flag means its dangerous and people shouldn’t venture out to sea.
“Lifeguards, rescue, and security personnel are patrolling the beaches all day making sure that people are abiding by the rules and safety procedures.”
The wind will remain strong today and conditions at seas will continue to be rough during the day, said Ahmed Habib, a meteorologist with the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology.
However, this evening the wind will start to die down and the seas will start to calm, Mr Habib said.
“When the winds decline or become light – moderate to light – the relative humidity will increase over land areas in the night and early mornings,” Mr Habib explained. “So there will be a chance of some fog.”
Mist and fog is especially likely over interior areas tomorrow and on Saturday morning, he said.
“There is a warning for visibility in early morning,” he said. “The visibility may be reduced with this fog.”
Last weekend, winds of 65 kph whipped up huge waves that battered the Dubai coastline. A woman was swept to her death while taking photos of waves lashing the Palm Jumeirah.
She was believed to have climbed over a barrier and stood on the water breakers in front of the Rixos Hotel on Friday.
In contrast to last weekend, seas will be “moderate in general” this weekend, Mr Habib said.
The temperatures will exhibit “no big change” but might rise a degree or two in some areas starting tomorrow, Mr Habib said. The relatively cool weather is “very normal” for this time of year, he added.
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
