UAE's Sharjah Desert Turns Green After Days Of Incessant Downpour

Several days of incessant downpour have turned the Sharjah desert green.

Photos captured on Sunday showed the desert covered in a layer of greenery, as plants flourished on what used to be arid land as a result of heavy rains.

Pawan Singh, staff photographer of UAE news agency The National, captured the aftermath of the heavy rains in the region, showing a variety of plants thriving in Sharjah desert. The photos showed the wildflowers and other shrubs extending from the desert plains of Sharjah to Kalba.

The UAE had experienced heavy rains since early last week until Friday. The country reportedly received 118mm of precipitation last week, which was noteworthy, considering the UAE's annual average rainfall was only 100mm.

Even as the rains have stopped, the temperatures in the country remain significantly low for the time of year, with the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) announcing on Sunday that the UAE had recorded its lowest temperature yet across the nation, in Jebel Jais.

Jebel Jais, the tallest mountain in the UAE, recorded a near-freezing temperature of 1.9C at 4:15 a.m. Sunday. Temperature in the area also dipped so low that the water ponds in the mountain turned into ice.

Sharjah resident Nizar Ahmed Konnalloor told Khaleej Times that it was his first time seeing the ponds in the mountain turn into ice during a trek.

"We were very pleasantly surprised to find the water frozen over like that," he told the outlet. "I have trekked to this spot twice before, but it was a first-time experience for my wife and friends."

Sharjah is not the only desert that has turned green in the UAE due to heavy rains. Gulf News photographer Ahmed Ramzan also captured a patch of green thriving in the desert of Ras Al Khaimah in the northern part of the Emirates in the aftermath of the downpour.

The UAE recorded its highest amount of precipitation in 27 years in July 2022, when Fujairah's port station recorded 255.2 mm of water after two days of endless rains.