What happened
Heavy rain and flooding battered the Persian Gulf region late Monday and Tuesday, dousing Dubai with a year and a half's worth of rain, killing at least 18 people in Oman and prompting flight cancellations and school closures in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Who said what
"Recovery will take some time," said Dubai International Airport, the world's second busiest. It's "absolute carnage" at the airport, one couple said to The Associated Press. "There's people sleeping in the Metro station. There's people sleeping in the airport."
The commentary
"Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation," the AP said, so "many roads and other areas lack drainage." Torrential rainfall events like this "will become more frequent due to human-driven climate change," CNN said. For every 1 degree rise in average temperature, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture, said the BBC, resulting in "more droplets and heavier rainfall, sometimes in a shorter space of time."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Another wave of heavy rain is forecast for Wednesday, and the UAE canceled school again and instituted remote work.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warmingUnder the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
Earth's seasons are out of whackUnder the radar The seasons' unfixed nature in different regions of the planet may have impacted biodiversity and evolution
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
When does autumn begin?The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
How 'freakosystems' are becoming the normThe explainer Ecosystems are changing permanently
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
-
What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?Under the Radar A record-breaking run of sweltering days and tropical nights is changing the way people – and animals – live in typically cool Nordic countries
