Weather

Rainfall is sparse and intermittent. In most years it rains during the winter months, usually in February or March, but occasionally earlier. Winter rains take the form of short sharp bursts, which, if occurring in the Hajar Mountains, run off rapidly into wadis and onto the downwashed gravel plains.

Localised thunderstorms occasionally occur during the summer. Generally appearing over the mountains of the south and east of the country, these rumbling cloudbursts can give rise to severe flash floods.

Some years are totally dry and it is only through the regular formation of dew that vegetation and wildlife can survive.

This applies even to those places that experience a relatively high annual rainfall: at the Hajar Mountain town of Masafi, for example, 350 mm may fall in a ‘wet’ year, whereas as little as 30 mm may be recorded in a ‘dry’ year.

Table 1.Mean monthly maximum temperature (Bateen airport, Abu Dhabi) and national mean monthly rainfall 1971/72–1988/89. 0°C and mm.