[Photo Credit:Junho Heo]

Heavy rain recently hit the Middle EasternGulf region which is very vulnerable to heavy rain, including the United Arab Emirates, causing floods and devastation.

In particular, on April 16th, Dubai was devastated by the inability of its drainage system to cope with such heavy rains and flooding.

The heavy rains caused 25-minute delays at Dubai Airport, flights were grounded, roads were flooded, cars were submerged, and businesses were paralyzed.

However, weather forecasting minimized the damage and early warnings allowed people to teach remote classes and work from home.

Over 130mm of rain fell in a single day, with some areas receiving over 250 mm of rain, which is the highest record in 75 years.

According to the UN, this is equivalent to a year's worth of rainfall in Dubai (130 mm) in a single day, and the city's unequipped drainage system was unable to cope, causing flooding which took a long time to clear out.

The Arabian Peninsula is an extremely hot desert with temperatures over 40ºC and irregular rain.

It is not clear whether climate change had an impact as it takes time for scientific analysis of many factors.

However, global warming can indeed produce more powerful and heavy rainfall.

According to the Clapeyron equation, for every 1º Celsius increase in air temperature, the amount of water that the air can hold increases by about 7% in moisture , which can make rainfall more powerful.

A study published in Nature in January of this year suggested that precipitation in the UAE could increase by up to 30% during the 21st century.

On SNS, some blamed cloud seeding for the heavy rain that paralyzed the city which Dubai has worked on for decades to combat water scarcity.

The technique involves dropping tiny particles into clouds to make it easier for water vapor to condense and fall as rain.

However, on the 16th, (the day of the floods) cloud seeding was not scheduled, which experts supported, saying that artificial rainfall events are not organized when heavy rainfall is expected.

As it barely rains in the Gulf region of the Middle East , there's no reason to build drainage systems for heavy rainfall.

The heavy rain traveled through the Arabian Peninsula and wreaked havoc in Oman.

The situation in Oman was similar to the UAE.

In total, 21 people died in Oman due to the heavy rain and many businesses had to be shut down and students were forced to attend school online.

In Saudi Arabia, schools are closed when heavy rain is expected to minimize the damage caused by rain.

Saudi Arabia has over 550 dams to prepare for floods and control water, but due to a lack of drainage Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to rain and flooding.

Recently, on May 1st, heavy rain closed schools in Dhahran and other parts of the country, and citizens were warned via text message when rain is expected.

If these extreme weather events continue to occur, unprepared regions will find it more difficult to cope in the future.