Weather in Dubai Right Now: An All-in-One Package

Dust storms are active this week, temperatures are rising toward 36°C, and the NCM has a live alert running through 22 April. Here is the full picture — from this week’s conditions back through March’s extraordinary storms, and forward into a sweltering summer.

⚠ NCM Alert active: dust, rain and strong winds forecast across UAE until 22 April 2026

Weather in Dubai This Week: Dust, wind and a temperature surge

The National Centre of Meteorology issued a formal weather advisory covering 18 to 22 April, flagging an unsettled spell across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Conditions start this week with partly cloudy skies and a temperature rise over the weekend, then deteriorate from Monday night onward.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, blowing dust and scattered rainfall are expected — particularly across western and eastern regions. Wind speeds run between 10 and 25 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 40 km/h at peak periods. The Arabian Gulf is rated moderate to rough during this window.

Gulf News reports that cloud cover increases from Monday night, especially over coastal areas and islands — a signal the NCM treats as the turning point before conditions worsen. DXB and AUH airports face possible minor disruptions from reduced visibility.

What the NCM is watching

Period	Conditions	Risk level
Sat–Sun 18–19 Apr	Fair to partly cloudy; temperature rise; light winds	Stable
Mon night 20 Apr	Cloud cover builds over coastal areas and islands	Watch
Tue–Wed 21–22 Apr	Partly cloudy to cloudy; blowing dust; scattered rain; rough seas in Arabian Gulf	Alert

Since late March, this marks the third distinct weather episode in the UAE in under four weeks.

What Comes Next

By the end of April, daytime highs in Dubai reach 35–36°C. Then summer proper arrives — and it is relentless.

Month	Average high	Average low (night)	What to expect
Late April	35–36°C	21–23°C	Warm, dry, some humidity building near coast
May	37–39°C	23–26°C	Humidity noticeable; outdoor activity becomes difficult midday
June–August	40–45°C+	28–30°C	Peak heat; feels-like temperatures can exceed 50°C with humidity
September	~40°C	~27°C	Gradual easing, dust storms possible

The highest temperature ever recorded in Dubai is 50.1°C, reached in July 2023.

Summers also bring shamal winds — strong north-westerly gusts that push dust storms through the city. Frequent dust storms are a near-certainty between May and September.

Sandstorms: the underrated threat

• Visibility in a severe sandstorm drops to as low as 500 metres — as it did on 2 April 2015.
• The 1 March 2019 storm combined heavy rain with fierce wind, cutting temperatures by 10°C almost instantly.
• Dust storm frequency is highest from May to September, driven by those same north-westerly shamal winds.

Practical advice for Expats and Visitors

Right now (late April) is still pleasant.

This is the last of the good outdoor weather before summer locks the city indoors.

• From May onwards, plan anything physical for before 8am or after 7pm.
• UV index hits Extreme (11+) by mid-morning.
• Sea temperature sits around 26°C in late April — ideal — and climbs toward 37°C by August.

Follow NCM alerts on the UAE government app.

Dubai Airport flooding can hit with very little notice, so allow extra time at the terminal during any storm period.

Earlier This Month: Rain, more rain

• On 5 April, the NCM issued an advisory for unstable conditions stretching through to 10 April — with rain, strong winds, blowing dust and rough seas across the country.
• Dubai and Abu Dhabi recorded lows as cool as 21°C during that spell, a temporary reprieve that residents described as a brief exhale after a tense March.
• On 16–17 April, yet another forecast came through. The NCM confirmed light rainfall over western coastal areas and islands, with northwesterly to south-westerly winds freshening to 35 km/h.
• Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah all sat at highs of 27–29°C during that window — well below the seasonal norm as a fresh system pushed through.

The March Storm

To understand why Dubai’s weather is making news, you have to go back to 23–27 March. A storm system bearing the hallmarks of America’s Tornado Alley — virtually unheard of in the Arabian Peninsula — swept across the UAE.

The National Centre of Meteorology called it a once-in-a-generation event.

• Several UAE stations recorded over 100mm of rainfall during those five days.
• Jebel Yanas in the north measured 244mm — nearly four times the region’s typical annual range.
• Dubai itself averages around 100mm per year; the storm delivered most of that in three days.

Tasreef, Dubai’s Dh30 billion underground bet

Dubai’s response to all of this is literal — it is digging downwards.

The Tasreef programme is a Dh30 billion (roughly $8.2 billion) deep tunnel stormwater network that will ultimately increase the city’s drainage capacity by 700 per cent.

Target completion: 2033.

• Phase Two contracts worth AED2.5 billion were awarded in February 2026, covering 30 vital areas and approximately 430 million square metres — supporting an estimated 3 million residents by 2040.
• On 16 April 2026, Dubai Municipality reported 36 per cent completion of the Deira stormwater project, with AED500 million invested, 22km of drainage networks implemented, and a new pumping station near Dubai Creek handling up to 8,000 litres per second.
• The Al Quoz phase, also Dh500 million, completed Phase One in April 2026 — adding 14km of stormwater and 15km of sewerage networks along Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.
• Additional Dh1.4 billion in contracts adds 36km of new drainage lines linking to the main Tasreef tunnel across areas including Jumeirah, Garhoud and around Dubai International Airport.

After the April 2024 disaster, a UAE government spokesperson stated plainly in March 2026: “When nature delivers a year’s rainfall in three days to a desert environment, no infrastructure system in the world can absorb that without consequence.” Tasreef is the long-term answer to that problem.