Dubai: The winter weather in the UAE is right around the corner as temperatures are expected to drop during the first week of December.
Ebrahim Al Jarwan, member of the Arab Union for Space and Astronomy and a Sharjah-based meteorologist, explained that the cooler season will sweep across the Arabian Peninsula from December 1-7, which is when the Antares star – the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius – can be seen.
Astronomers typically regard the sighting of the Antares star as a sign that marks the start of the colder weather.
“December 21 marks the winter solstice, which is when we will have the shortest day and the longest night of the year. After that, the days will gradually get longer, and the nights shorter,” said Al Jarwan, pointing that this year’s winter solstice will start at 2.02 pm.
“In Iraq and the Levant region, winter will start either on December 21 or 22. This is also when the colder weather across the Arabian Peninsula will start the peak of its winter season, which will last for 40 days, and accompanied with rain and strong winds,” he said.
By the beginning of next month, residents in the UAE will also feel a difference in the air as the Arabian Peninsula, and the deserts in Syria, Jordan and Iraq, will all be affected by medium to heavy bouts of rain, accompanied by northwesterly to westerly winds
This marks the Al Marba’aniyah season, which will continue until January 15, 2021, and see minimum temperatures in the UAE to drop close to zero in the northern regions, and below 10C in the central and southern regions.
The Al Marba’aniyah season determines the start of the colder weather, and when the country records an average high of 23 degrees Celsius during the day.