Flights delayed, canceled after Dubai International Airport floods

An unprecedented rainstorm hit the UAE over the weekend and continues to wage chaos across the country, flooding cities and bringing its air transport system to a halt. 

The unstable weather conditions - which are set to continue until Wednesday - led to the delay and cancelation of several flights that were scheduled to take wing to and from the Dubai International Airport. 

"Dubai Airports can confirm that due to heavy rainfall and flooding earlier today, Dubai International (DXB) is experiencing operational disruptions," an official said in a statement released on Sunday. 

The official added that airport teams were working with all their service partners to ensure that full operations are restored as soon as possible. 

Flights continued to face major disruption on Sunday, The National reported. However, airport operators said they were working closely with airlines to minimize cancelations in the coming days. 

Emirates Airlines confirmed that delays and cancelations had affected several of its flights. A spokesman for the company apologized for the inconvenience caused for travelers and confirmed that those affected by cancelations would automatically be "booked on the next available flight."

The rainstorm that has been waging in Dubai didn't only influence aviation but also flooded several local schools, causing them to close and postpone all exams scheduled on Sunday — the first day of the school and work week in the country. 

According to Khaleej Times, the intense rainfall caused a spike in the number of car accidents reported in Dubai. Since Thursday, nearly 1,900 traffic incidents took place in the emirate, with 55 of them considered serious in nature. 

In response, the Director General of Dubai Police Traffic Department, Brigadier Saif Mahir Al Mazrouei, "called on all motorists to drive with caution during the bad weather conditions." The city's Roads and Transport Authority also urged residents to use the metro in Dubai to avoid traffic caused by floods.

Experts say the Gulf nation hasn't seen such a severe weather phenomenon and non-stop rainfall in 24 years.  

The Emirati National Centre of Meteorology announced that in just two days, Al Ain's Khatm Al Shakla recorded 184.4mm of water. 

This, by far, exceeds the previously held record of 144mm of rainwater that fell in Sharjah's Khor Fakkan back in 1996. 

Many are attributing the extreme weather conditions being experienced in the UAE, several other countries in the region, and the world to climate change. 

The Arab world went through one of its most scorching summers to date last year, with temperatures skyrocketing. Winters have also been harsher than ever before in the past few years including in countries where climates were previously known to be dry, namely Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. 

The Arab world must do more to help fight climate change and the UAE acknowledges that. Emirati officials have been working on developing plans to combat the global phenomenon.

At the time being, the country generates less than 5 percent of its electricity through renewables. But that is set to increase in the next few years as the Gulf nation recently opened a solar plant in Sweihan. Dubbed as the world's largest solar power project, the plant - which has been named Noor (light) - will help the UAE reach its goal of generating 44 percent of its power from clean energy by 2050.