Don’t let the weather dampen your spirits, Dubai is already bouncing back

Yes, we’re all feeling a bit rain battered but let’s remember how lucky we are to live in a city where storms are an exception – and resilience is second nature

If today sees you mop in hand clearing up the mini pond where your lounge used to be, we feel your pain – there's barely anyone in the emirate who wasn’t fighting the elements yesterday.

The heavy downpours were "a historic weather event" that surpassed anything seen since records began, the state-run WAM news agency said.

It was certainly one for the record books.

This was the country’s worse storm in 75 years, with a whopping 255mm of rain in a single day – about as much as the country expects in a year-and-a-half.

As residents and visitors retreated indoors to wait it out, sharing updates and videos across social media, it was hard for any of us to believe we were still in our same famously sunny desert metropolis.

And that’s the point – this was a truly exceptional day. Yes, we’re still dealing with flood waters in the aftermath, but clean-up is already well underway – helped along nicely by the big yellow sun that’s already back in the blue sky like nothing ever happened.

For those alarmed by the scale of the flooding - a little perspective. The average amount of rain in famously soggy London per month is 50mm; meaning the amount that fell in the UAE yesterday is equivalent to five months' worth of continuous rain in the UK capital.

That’s a lot for the infrastructure of a city to deal with, and yet dealing with it Dubai is. How many others around the world would be able to act so fast?

Yesterday, a viral social media video showed a metro station with lines of passengers knee deep in water trying to get through the barriers to exit. Most sections of the tramlines were suspended while the authorities tried to regain control.

Fast forward one day and the RTA posted this message on Twitter (X):

“To all Dubai Tram passengers, we're pleased to inform you that Dubai Tram is operating according to its regular schedule. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Bounce back? Nobody does it better than Dubai.