Dense fog continued to affect road and air traffic in Dubai for the second day on Thursday, with Dubai Police confirming 119 traffic accidents on Wednesday due to early morning fog.
The accidents were reported between 4am and 9am, with no injuries, the police said, adding that its control room received a total of 1,892 calls up until 12 noon.
Major Mohamed Juma Aman, deputy director of the control room at the General Department of Operations at Dubai Police, urged drivers to be more alert and abide by all traffic rules as low visibility could cause fatal accidents.
He added drivers should ensure that their windshields are clean and signals are in working condition.
Dubai Police was patrolling roads to prevent congestion and streamline traffic, and stood ready to intervene in case of an emergency, Aman said.
The police have reminded drivers to use low beam lights and indicators when changing lanes, and to leave enough distance between vehicles.
The UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) on Thursday morning reported continuous fog formation with visibility of just 50 metres over Al Maktoum International Airport, Sharjah Airport, Swiehan, Ras Al Khaiman and Liwa.
Most other internal and coastal areas suffered poor visibility of less of than 500 metres as a result of the fog, the NCMS said, and this is expected to continue until the weekend.
Meanwhile, Dubai Airports said in a statement to Arabian Business that two flights had been diverted early on Thursday morning.
In a tweet, Sharjah Municipality said there was heavy fog across the city, and warned motorists to exercise extra caution while driving.