(5 Sep 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Masafi, United Arab Emirates – 30 August 2025
1. Man standing under the rain and filming
2. Men standing under the rain
3. Clouds with rain drops coming down
4. Various of man holding a device for lightning strikes
5. Man standing with his children under the rain
6. Man filming friend under the rain
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Akshay Uthaman Mathew, Dubai radio presenter:
"This is amazing, this is what Kerala people.. we love this rain and we are chasing it for a long time actually and this is amazing. And we thank UAE weatherman for forecasting this and passing the information to all of us."
8. Cars driving by
9. View from inside a car with rain dropping on windshield
10. People under the rain
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhammad Sajjad Kalliyadan Poil, organizer of rain chasing events:
"We came here to chase the rain. When we get the rain we get so much happiness, happiness in a sense that it takes us to nostalgic memories, it takes us to the old days."
12. People gathered under the rain
13. Woman taking a picture of her daughter under the rain
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhammad Sajjad Kalliyadan Poil, organizer of rain chasing events:
"We are all, I mean we’re from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh — all tropical countries. We are getting so much rain (there). So when we come to Dubai, a dry area, we miss rain always. So we are always expecting a single drop of rain, if a drop comes it gives a lot of happiness, a lot of memories, nostalgic moments."
15. Various of people gathered under the rain
STORYLINE:
Outside of a mountain village in the northern outskirts of the United Arab Emirates, clouds suddenly crowded out the white-hot sun that bakes this desert nation in the summer months.
Fierce winds blew over planters and pushed a dumpster down the street. And then came the most infrequent visitor of all — rain.
Rainfall long has fascinated the people of the UAE.
That includes both the country’s locals and its vast population of foreign workers, many coming from homes in the Indian subcontinent who grew up with monsoon deluges.
With some 4 million people now estimated to be living in Dubai alone compared to around 255,000 in 1980, pressure on water consumption continues.
The UAE, home to an estimated 10 million people, sits along both the Persian Gulf to its north and west and the Gulf of Oman to the east.
The stone Hajar Mountains separate it from neighboring Oman.
Along the southern borders of the Arabian Peninsula, monsoon rains can hit seaside areas of Oman and Yemen.
But the vast desert stretch of the peninsula, known as the Empty Quarter, has a weather pattern that keeps the clouds out.
That means little to no rain, sometimes for years at a time in some areas.
That mean the country relies heavily on some 70 water desalination plants to supply drinking water, as well as drip irrigation for plants that can rely on recycled wastewater.
Dams have also been built in recent years to catch and store water runoff.
Even then, the UAE ranks seventh worldwide for being at risk for water scarcity, according to the World Resources Institute.
Groundwater reservoirs have been known to be under pressure for years.
The UAE also has been “cloud seeding” for years, flying aircraft to release chemicals into clouds to try to induce rains.
“Water is more important than oil,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the leader of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, reportedly said back in 2011.
That’s particularly true in Dubai, where its booming population strains its roadways.
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