Residents awoke to heavy fog while thousands of flyers faced delays and were advised to check their flights due to fog-induced delays on Thursday (12 January 2017) morning.

Weather forecasters said that heavy mist reduced visibility to less than 50 meters in most areas and roads in the UAE.

The fog was also responsible for causing multiple accidents on Al Khail Road and Airport Road, as well as along Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road in Dubai near Al Khawaneej and Arabian Ranches.

The National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) reported heavy fogging at around 5 AM over Abu Dhabi International Airport, Khalifa City and adjoining areas, Dubai International Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport and mist over Sharjah International Airport.

Live Flights, a flight tracking site, reported that more than 100 inbound flights were delayed at both Dubai and Abu Dhabi International aports.

Police and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) also urged motorists to take extra care on roads as the fog affected the major arteries that connect the country, especially the Abu Dhabi-Dubai, Abu Dhabi-Al Ain, Abu Dhabi-Ghweifat highways.

Relative humidity is expected to increase during the night and early on Friday morning, especial over internal area.

Weathermen also warned of rough seas wind of up to 40km/hr kick up waves up 7-foot-high waves offshore.

“The sea is rough to very rough in the Arabian Gulf, slight to moderate becoming rough by evening in Oman Sea,” said NCMS in a tweet.

According to flight-tracking site Live Traffic Site, dozens of passengers experienced delays of all in-bound and out-bound flights from 3-6 AM in the UAE.