Dubai’s Summer Sky

“Heat, ma’am! It was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.”

~ Sydney Smith, Lady Holland’s Memoir

The Burj al Arab stands tall behind the villas.

That’s our exciting summer sky:  gray and cloudless.  We live in air-conditioned environments 24/7:  in our homes, cars, offices, malls, bus stops, restaurants, restrooms, etc.  And the two-minute walk that we take from the house to the car, we spend that complaining about how hot the weather is.  The water from the tap is hot.  Not just warm, but hot.  Which means, it’s unbearable to take a shower after 9 am.

“If I sit with a chocolate bar during the afternoon, I will not be able to relish it till the end as halfway through, it starts to melt into a sauce.”

~ Serendipitous Life, blogger and friend.

The Weather Report

Two days ago, the weathermen predicted strong south-easterly winds to bring thunderstorms and lightning along with scattered rain to the UAE.

Yesterday, Gulf News reported about the ‘50km/hr thrashing winds that battered Al Ain (2 hours of drive from Dubai) and its surrounding areas, uprooting plants damaging signboards, and throwing satellite dishes and antennas from the rooftops of the buildings’.

Weathermen cautioned residents to prepare for thunderstorms, heavy rain and dust storms to hit Dubai on Wednesday morning.

I got my camera ready last night, making sure the battery is fully recharged to capture the thunderstorms.  However, when I woke up this morning, eagerly jumping out of my bed and looking out of my bedroom window, I found the sun shining brightly with all its glory, and the birds hopping and chirping around joyously.

And it was pretty hot during the day too – 37 C.

By 4 pm, clouds started to gather.  Masood and I went out for a walk.

Hail stones started falling at 8:45 pm, which lasted for around 30 minutes.  This picture was taken by my sister.

By the time we were heading for home, at 9 pm, it was drizzling.

UPDATE: Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit across the Emirates for the next four days.  That means we’ll be having dark, gray skies until Monday or Tuesday.  Wonder how the skies look like today in other parts of the world?  Click on the image below to find out.

Another Sandstorm

Dust-laden winds blew across Dubai this afternoon, lowering down the temperature and reducing visibility.  Just a few weeks ago, we had experienced a sandtorm, which I wrote about here.   Fortunately, weathermen describe this storm as “a short and weak spell”.

The picture above shows Shaikh Zayed Road, the longest road in the United Arab Emirates and home to Dubai’s skyscrapers, including the famous Burj Dubai.  With reduced visibility, you can barely see the buildings just after that toll gate.

The weathermen predicted moderate winds to continue at the speed of 12-24 kilometers per hour, blowing up sand and dust, for the next 24 hours.

So today we have gray, cloudless skies with lots of dust and sand.  Wonder how the skies elsewhere look like today?  Well, simply click on the image below.

Weather Changes and Flu

Dubai is starting to experience a drop in temperature:  from 45+ to 30 C.  Please note, however, that this is the evening temperature.  It’s still quite hot during the day.  And since we’ve got so accustomed to living in the 45+ C range, walking out on a 30 C moonlit evening is really pleasant.

Also, ’tis the season to spread the virus.  So, I am currently down with the mandatory annual flu.   I’ve got the complete package:  fever, runny nose, throat pain, body malaise, and cough.  I’d spent the weekend, all cozy in bed.  I normally don’t take any medications for flu, so while I sat in front of my laptop sipping a cup of warm Joshanda and wiping my nose red with boxes of tissue paper, my dear husband couldn’t bear my condition.  He decided that it was time I took some medicine.

Being the obedient wife that I am, I took a pill before going to bed.  Actually, I took two pills.  Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling my chest all congested. The medicines had done their job:  I am no longer febrile and my nose isn’t runny anymore.  Now, this congestion is making me very uncomfortable at work.  I started coughing.  So I asked Masood to buy me an expectorant.  I took 10 ml of cough syrup and my throat felt grateful.  A few hours later, I threw up, making me feel a whole lot better.

And I’m thinking:  first, I took pills to stop my nose from running by thickening up the secretions, then I took a syrup to loosen the thickened secretions.  Great!  I stopped both medications, and returned to drinking joshanda later in the evening and eating the egg, boiled by my mother-in-law.

Although I hate being sick, yet a part of me sort of enjoys the attention I get.  I love it when Masood looks at me with those caring eyes and rubs vicks on my forehead.  I love it when my mother-in-law lovingly stops me from doing the dishes.  I love it when I’m asked whether I wanted soup, or anything else in particular.  I love getting that “extra” care.

On our way home from work last night, we stopped by a mall.  I bought a gorgeous watch (a surprise gift) for my mother-in-law before she returns to Hyderabad later tonight.  She absolutely loved it!

Today, I feel so much better, Alhumdulillah.