Hot on the heels of Thursday’s airport chaos, the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) escalated its weather alert to ‘red’—the highest level—for large swathes of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah as dense fog persisted through the morning commute of 20 November. Police activated variable-speed limits on key motorways, slashing maximum speeds to 80 km/h and deploying patrols to enforce lane discipline.
Commuter impact: School-bus operators delayed start times while several private schools in Abu Dhabi switched to remote learning. Logistics providers reported slower pickups at Jebel Ali Free Zone, and ride-hailing apps implemented surge pricing. Any employee arriving late due to fog is protected under the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation’s force-majeure guidance, but HR teams should document blanket communications.
![UAE Issues Red-Alert Weather Warning as Visibility Drops Below 500 m]()
Business-travel considerations: Companies running airport-meet-and-greet services should double driver lead-times; inbound delegations may require hotel-to-meeting transfers by metro to bypass Sheikh Zayed Road congestion. Health-and-safety managers are advised to circulate defensive-driving tips and ensure insurance coverage extends to weather-related incidents.
Climate context: The UAE experiences radiative fog when nocturnal cooling meets residual humidity—conditions more frequent as urban irrigation and coastal development expand. Authorities are piloting ‘fog detection poles’ along the E311 corridor, but full deployment is not expected until late 2026.
Take-away: For mobility planners, weather alerts are no longer a marginal issue—they directly influence duty-of-care obligations and may trigger overtime costs if staff are stranded. Embedding NCM API feeds into corporate travel dashboards can provide real-time rerouting triggers.
Commuter impact: School-bus operators delayed start times while several private schools in Abu Dhabi switched to remote learning. Logistics providers reported slower pickups at Jebel Ali Free Zone, and ride-hailing apps implemented surge pricing. Any employee arriving late due to fog is protected under the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation’s force-majeure guidance, but HR teams should document blanket communications.
Business-travel considerations: Companies running airport-meet-and-greet services should double driver lead-times; inbound delegations may require hotel-to-meeting transfers by metro to bypass Sheikh Zayed Road congestion. Health-and-safety managers are advised to circulate defensive-driving tips and ensure insurance coverage extends to weather-related incidents.
Climate context: The UAE experiences radiative fog when nocturnal cooling meets residual humidity—conditions more frequent as urban irrigation and coastal development expand. Authorities are piloting ‘fog detection poles’ along the E311 corridor, but full deployment is not expected until late 2026.
Take-away: For mobility planners, weather alerts are no longer a marginal issue—they directly influence duty-of-care obligations and may trigger overtime costs if staff are stranded. Embedding NCM API feeds into corporate travel dashboards can provide real-time rerouting triggers.
