Over the last few days, Dubai experienced an unprecedented weather event as heavy rain swept through the city. The deluge led to widespread disruption, affecting air travel and inundating streets throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE), halting normal activities. This was the heaviest rainfall that UAE has seen in the past 75 years, with the state-run weather agency labelling it a “historic weather event”. While visuals of the devastation in the country have been making headlines, now videos and pictures of Dubai’s sky turning green are taking social media by storm. While many users expressed their shock, others shared that it was an indication of the impending storm.
One video that viral on social media is a time-lapse clip that shows the grey sky turning into hazy green, indicative of the rainstorm. The 23-second video, posted on April 17, features the caption: “Sky turns green In Dubai! Actual footage from the storm in Dubai today.”
Sky Turns GREEN In DUBAI!
Actual footage from the storm in #Dubai today. pic.twitter.com/x8kQe85Lto
— Mister J. – مسٹر جے (@Angryman_J) April 16, 2024
“Actual footage from the storm in Dubai today. You can see the sky turn GREEN!!!” shared another user.
Actual footage from the storm in Dubai today.
You can see the sky turn GREEN!!! pic.twitter.com/A9aXgsBnkd
— Steve Bambury (@steve_bambury) April 16, 2024
Posting another video, another user wrote: “Heavy rain in Dubai right now, live footage sky turns green the whole city looks like dusty #Dubai #rain.”
Heavy rain in Dubai right now , live footage sky turns green the whole city looks like dusty#Dubai #rain
pic.twitter.com/mzfeYjNuE0— farheenkhan (@farheenkhansam2) April 16, 2024
About the phenomenon, one user said: “Usually when the sky does that, it means a tornado is coming.”
Usually when the sky does that, it means a tornado is coming
— Prince Ice Blaze Winters (@IkosVharr) April 17, 2024
“That’s supercell, tornado colour. I’ve seen it in the deserts of southwestern United States,” explained another user.
That’s supercell, tornado color.
I’ve seen it in the deserts of southwestern United States.— I hear a wailing of the damned, not the penitent. (@AskNoMansLand) April 17, 2024
A Fox News report attributed the change in hue to because of the diffusion of light by the atmosphere lights ice droplets in a cloud. Quoting National Weather Service authorities, the report said, “Water/ice particles in storm clouds with substantial depth and water content will primarily scatter blue light. When the reddish light scattered by the atmosphere illuminates the blue water/ice droplets in the cloud, they will appear to glow green.”
The report added that there is “no known correlation between a blue-green sky and tornado production.”
Seconding this, a report by the University Of Wisconsin–Madison quotes Scott Bachmeier, a research meteorologist at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies as saying, “When blue objects are illuminated with red light, Bachmeier says, they appear green. Green is significant, but not proof that a tornado is on the way. A green cloud “will only occur if the cloud is very deep, which generally only occurs in thunderstorm clouds,” Mr Bachmeier explained, adding. “Those are the kind of storms that may produce hail and tornadoes.”
In light of the weather conditions, the Dubai International (DXB) has advised passengers not to come to the airport and added that flights continue to be delayed and diverted.
