Weather forecast to cool slightly across the country next week after searing month

May 03, 2025

People across the UAE are in for some good news, as weather experts have forecast relief from searing temperatures next week. 

Temperatures are expected to cool down slightly from Tuesday, due to changes in wind movements in the Gulf. 

It comes after the hottest April on record in the UAE, according to the National Centre of Meteorology.

The NCM confirmed to the The National on Saturday that the UAE had the warmest April since 2003 – when data began to be collected systematically. Average daily temperature highs for the month stood at 42.6°C.

The unseasonal heatwave baking the UAE has been caused by light winds from the south-west bringing heat from the desert, with the mercury surging to the upper 40s – quite the contrast to floods that swept across the country in April 2024. 

The highest temperature recorded in the country on Friday was a sweltering 46.2°C, in Abu Dhabi’s Sweihan. 

The heatwave prompted the NCM to issue a public health warning. Experts cautioned the UAE is headed for longer and hotter summers. 

Dr Diana Francis, climate scientist and head of the ENGEOS Lab at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, told The National that summer now lasts about 10 days longer. 

“In the future, projections show an increase of the summer season towards six months, with fall and spring seasons shrinking in length,” said Dr Francis.

In its five-day bulletin issued on Saturday, meanwhile, the NCM said the winds would change from the south-west to north-west with Tuesday pinpointed as the day the mercury will come down. 

The NCM also cautioned, however, that winds of up to 40kph by Wednesday could kick up dust clouds and cut visibility. 

“[It will be] fair to partly cloudy and dusty at times with a decrease in temperatures westward,” the NCM said, in its forecast for Tuesday. 

“Light to moderate south-easterly becoming north-westerly winds, freshening at times [will cause] blowing and suspended dust and sand.”

The picture was similar for Wednesday with the NCM stating conditions will be “fair to partly cloudy and dusty at times with another decrease in temperatures”. 

“Moderate to fresh north-westerly winds and strong at times especially over the sea [will cause] blowing and suspended dust and sand over the land reducing the horizontal visibility.”

However, average temperatures are still set to remain high over the next couple of days. For Sunday, temperatures could reach as high as 44°C in Abu Dhabi and 42°C in Dubai, the NCM said. 

On Monday, both cities could see highs of 43°C before the slight reduction in temperatures by several degrees is expected. 

In its climate summary for May issued on Friday, the weather centre said during the month there was a gradual increase of air temperature over most parts of the country as summer approached.

The highest temperature on record for May was 50.2°C at two stations in the country in 2009. 

By contrast the lowest was 9.0°C at Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah in 2005.

What will happen if the world limits warming to 1.5°C-4°C?

Under existing climate policies, there is a 66 per cent chance of warming reaching 3°C above pre-industrial levels this century

1.5°C (with limited or no overshoot)

Should the world act to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement, it is likely still that warming will temporarily exceed 1.5°C, albeit for a few decades, from 2030 before dropping below 1.5°C by 2060. To achieve this, Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions must drop by around 43 per cent by 2030. The most severe effects of climate change would be avoided, although extreme heatwaves and droughts would be more common than at present.

2°C (limits peak warming to 2°C throughout 21st century)

Warming would exceed 1.5°C from 2030 until beyond 2100, with a peak of 1.89°C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, GHG emissions would need to be reduced by 9.2 per cent of current global levels. What would previously have been a once-in-50-year heatwave would now occur about 14 times in that period. Cooling back down to 1.5°C would be difficult. Sea-levels will rise by 20cm at more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s coastlines.

3°C (limits peak warming to 3°C throughout 21st century

Warming would exceed 2.5°C by around 2075, having dramatically risen above 1.5°C from 2030 and peaking at 2.69°C by 2100. In this case, the world would pass catastrophic points of no return. Ice sheets would be completely lost, sea levels would rise by several metres – making many coastal cities unlivable – and the extreme heatwaves would occur most years. The Amazon rainforest would also be expected to dry out.

4°C (limits warming to 4°C by 2100)

CO2 and GHG emissions do not reach net-zero and warming does not peak in this century. The world would face unprecedented heat waves, severe drought, major flooding in many regions, which would have serious impact on human systems and ecosystems. Millions of climate refugees would be created as food supplies collapse. Wide-scale adaptation to global sea rise would also be necessary. Human and natural systems would be subject to increasing levels of agricultural pests and diseases.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2025/05/03/hottest-april-on-record-in-uae/