Experiencing Rain in an Arabian Desert Nation
Rain in the Desert, its Disruptions, and Signs of Climate Change
Given the nature of this occurrence, I thought it fitting to start writing this article via the voice-to-text feature in my Google Docs.
Rain in the desert does not happen all the time, but when it does, it’s always a spectacular thing to experience. Living in some areas of Gulf regions, thunderstorms are a rare occurrence.
I woke up this morning hearing thunder, thinking my ears could be deceiving me. But I thought again, I know what thunder sounds like. Sure enough, as I cleared my head and opened my eyes, I heard thunder again, followed by lightning. In my excitement, I sprung out of bed and opened my window curtains to see light falling rain.
I left my bedroom and went to my balcony. When I stepped outside, I had a clear view of cloudy, dark grey, overcast skies. Looking out, I viewed the wet roads which were collecting water. There were many puddles surrounding the bare ground around my building. Much of the open land was soaked.
Because I like rainy days, I returned to my room, drew my window curtain open fully and sprung back into bed. I stared out the window, listening to the thunder and watching the lightning and gazing at the rain beating against my window pane. Rain is one of those things for me that is soothing. However, I am not particularly fond of thunder or lightning accompanying any thunderstorm.
So why am I writing about rain? Well, it’s because I live in the Arabian Desert and in a country where the annual rainfall is between 140–200 mm per year, as noted by the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal. Most of the rain in the country occurs in December and January and in the northernmost Emirates. The rainfall is a result of natural occurrences and scientific endeavors known as cloud seeding. The rainfall can be higher in mountainous regions along the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Oman border. These rarer showers bring a day of cooler temperatures, a respite from the heat in the late autumn and winter months. However, this rarity from nature also comes with some challenges.
While I am thrilled that it’s raining, I can hear the thunder and see the lightning. I know what…
