UAE residents — particularly those in the eastern, northern areas of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah — are advised to take extra precautions when going outdoors this afternoon until the evening.

A yellow alert was issued as rain clouds are expected to hover above these areas from 12.30pm until 8pm today, the National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) said.

Strong winds are likely to hit the east coast, too, with speeds reaching 40mph.

Here are the affected areas.

Overall, the day will be fair to partly cloudy at times, the NCM said in its earlier forecast.

Light to moderate winds will blow, freshening at times causing blowing dust and sand. There is a chance of some local convective cloud formation associated with rainfall eastward and over some internal and western areas.

Temperatures could be as high as 42ºC in the country. The mercury is set to rise to 38ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

However, temperatures could be as low as 27ºC in Abu Dhabi and 29ºC in Dubai and 16ºC in mountainous regions.

It will be humid at night and Wednesday morning over some internal areas. Levels will range from 30 to 75 per cent in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Conditions at sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and slight in the Oman Sea.

Unstable weather conditions this week

The country is bracing itself for unstable weather conditions in the coming days. Temperatures will reach up to 39ºC and 38ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the coming week.

Residents could expect a humid night over some internal and coastal areas, with a probability of fog or mist formation by early morning especially westward.

As residents prepare for unsettled weather and rainfall on May 2, NCM experts stressed that May 2-3 is identified as the ‘peak’ of the situation. The days ahead will witness moderate to heavy rainfall over scattered areas, occasionally accompanied by lightning and thunder, with a probability of hail.