Goa, April 17 -- Dubai experienced a deluge on Tuesday as heavy thunderstorms swept across the United Arab Emirates, causing significant flooding and disrupting daily life in the glitzy city. Over a year and a half's worth of rainfall poured down in just a few hours, inundating roads and leading to chaos at Dubai International Airport.

The desert city-state was hit by intense rainfall, with approximately 20 millimetres (0.79 inches) of rain drenching the area late Monday, followed by a worsening storm on Tuesday morning. This extreme weather event, associated with a larger storm system moving across the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf of Oman, brought life to a standstill in Dubai.

The heavy showers that disrupted life in Dubai City were...