Government officials in the United Arab Emirates reported the largest amount of rainfall ever recorded this week, saying the arid Middle Eastern nation received more than 10 inches of rain.
According to reports, the rain caused massive flooding in the country's biggest city, Dubai, and delayed flights out of the Dubai International Airport, which is the world's busiest for international travel.
News articles and social media posts show unbelievable sights like a tanker truck submerged in water, cars floating on a highway, planes unable to move because of knee-deep water, and people walking along elevated barriers.
What makes the flooding so concerning is, according to reports, the desert area gets on average a little less than three inches of rain each year.
There's so little rain, in fact, the UAE government has resorted to "cloud seeding," which is the process of injecting clouds with salts to create artificial rain.
While some argue that cloud seeding led to recent flooding, experts dismiss those claims as speculation. The reason is cloud seeding is only occasionally done and the process doesn't result in much rain. Otherwise, there would be more average rainfall in the area.
Experts attribute the historic rain to a normal weather system exacerbated by climate change.
