Very hot during the day, Dubai's illuminated beaches are crowded at night October 6, 2024

Floodlights illuminate Dubai's Umm Suqeim beach to make it safer for bathers at night when the Gulf's scorching heat has subsided.

By AFP -Agence France Presse

Very hot during the day, Dubai's illuminated beaches are crowded at night

Sahar AL ATTAR

Frightened by summer temperatures that are too hot to go to the beach, Dubai has resorted to an innovative solution: opening them up at night, with floodlights and lifeguards carrying night vision binoculars.

The idea, in one of the world's hottest regions, with temperatures rising due to climate change, has proved popular - more than a million people have visited the night beaches since last year, according to one official.

Even with much of the region preoccupied with the growing conflict pitting Israel against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, the giant neighbor of the United Arab Emirates, the night beaches remain busy on weekend evenings.

“The temperature drops at night after the sun goes down. So yes, it's amazing,” said Mohammed, 32, from Pakistan, who brought his children to enjoy the sea without having to worry about the scorching Gulf sun.

For residents of Dubai, a desert and coastal metropolis of some 3.7 million inhabitants, the hot season from June to October is an annual ordeal.

With temperatures regularly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and often with high humidity, outdoor activities are severely limited.

The city now has more than 800 meters of night beaches equipped with shark nets and illuminated by giant, glowing floodlights.

“While you're... bathing in the water, you can see the sand even on your feet, your hands and everything,” said Mohammed, who has lived in Dubai for a decade.

The lifeguards are on standby 24 hours a day, and, in addition to the glow of spotlights, they use night vision binoculars to keep an eye on swimmers or kayakers further out in the water.

The authorities are also testing a camera system with artificial intelligence to detect when people are in danger.

- 'It's like a bath' - you

At almost midnight on a recent Friday, with temperatures still above 30°C, Umm Suqeim beach was packed with people - mainly expats, who make up around 90% of the UAE's population.

Mary Bayarka, a 38-year-old fitness trainer from Belarus, was enjoying being outdoors after a “long, hot day,” even if the Gulf sea water was a little warm.

“It feels like (I'm) in a bath,” she said.

Nearby, Filipino saleswoman Laya Manko was burying her body in the sand. The beach is an escape for the 36-year-old, one of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who keep Dubai's economy afloat.

“Every weekend, we come here to have fun,” she said. “Sometimes we sleep here with my friends.

“As you work a lot in Dubai, you feel you need to relax. Yes, this is my stress relief,” said Manko.

For the authorities, the night beaches are another way of attracting tourists, especially in summer, when the sweltering heat usually keeps them indoors.

“I believe we are one of the only cities in the world to have this infrastructure on public beaches at night,” said Hamad Shaker, an official at Dubai Municipality.

- Extreme weather - You don't know what to do

Dubai used to be empty in the summer as expats fled the heat in droves, said Manuela Gutberlet, a tourism researcher at the University of Breda in the Netherlands.

However, with attractions such as the world's tallest building, giant shopping malls, and indoor amusement parks, the city has become “a year-round urban destination,” attracting more than 17 million visitors last year, she said.

However, climate change could limit its ambitions, Gutberlet warned, citing the unprecedented rains that paralyzed the city for several days in April.

Extreme weather events and a further rise in temperatures could discourage some visitors, she said, stressing the need to “adapt quickly to the new risks.”

Meanwhile, 77-year-old Frenchman Laziz Ahmed found himself on the beach at night during his first vacation in Dubai, where he was visiting relatives.

“During the day, I don't go out much,” he said, adding that at night, ‘I make up for it’.

saa/th/kir/mca