Asio otus: A Long-eared Owl spotted in Abu Dhabi for the first time in over two decades.

Nine species of Owls have been recorded in the United Arab Emirates, although only six of these are considered to by indigenous. Long-eared Owls, Asio otus, are a migratory species found across temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. In the Middle East they have been recorded to breed in northernmost Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and the northwestern part of Iran. They are also occasional visitors to other parts of the region, including the United Arab Emirates, where they are considered to be vagrant and extremely rare. Between 1971 and 2013, there were sixteen recorded sightings of Long-eared Owls in the United Arab Emirates, although the species has not been recorded since.

In a paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 May 2025, Shakeel Ahmed and Sálim Javed of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, report the sighting of a Long-eared Owl in the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi on 1 January 2022.

The 1 January 2022 sighting is the first recording of a Long-eared Owl in Abu Dhabi since October 1999, when another Owl was spotted in the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve. The Owl was spotted at about 6.30 am on the northern part of the reserve. The previous day the area had been hit by a storm, with high winds and heavy rain lasting all day.

An  adult  Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, roosting on a tree in Al Wathba Wetland Reserve. Muhammad Maqsood in Ahmed & Javed (2025).

Long-eared Owls are classified as being of Least Concern under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened species. Nevertheless, the global population of the species is known to be declining, which, among other things, means that sightings on the fringes of the species range are becoming rarer.

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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus reported in the United Arab Emirates.

On 10 July 2023, the United Arab Emirates, notified the World Health Organization of a case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in a 28-year-old male from Al Ain city in Abu Dhabi, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 12 July 2023. The case had no history of direct or indirect contact with Dromedaries, Goats, or Sheep (the Animals believed to be the main vectors for the Virus). The patient was admitted to the hospital on 8 June. A nasopharyngeal swab was collected on 21 June and tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus by polymerase chain reaction (on 23 June 2023. All 108 identified contacts were monitored for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus patient. No secondary cases have been detected to date. 

Since July 2013, when the United Arab Emirates reported the first case of MERS-CoV, 94 confirmed cases (including this new case) and 12 deaths have been reported. Globally, the total number of confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus cases reported to the World Health Organization since 2012 is 2605, including 936 associated deaths.

The World Health Organization continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and conducts risk assessments based on the latest available information. The World Health Organization expects that additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus infection will be reported from the Middle East and/or other countries where Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus is circulating in Dromedaries.

The World Health Organization re-emphasizes the importance of strong surveillance by all Member States for acute respiratory infections, including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, and to carefully review any unusual patterns.

On 10 July 2023, the International Health Regulations National Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates notified the World Health Organization of a confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Abu Dhabi. The patient is a 28-year-old male, non- Emirati national living in Al Ain city, a non-healthcare worker.  The case visited a private medical centre multiple times between 3 and 7 June 2023, complaining of vomiting, right flank pain, and dysuria (pain when passing urine). On 8 June, the case presented to a government hospital with vomiting, and gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhoea, and was given an initial diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, and sepsis.

On 13 June, he was in critical condition and referred to an intensive care unit (at a specialized government tertiary hospital where he was put on mechanical ventilation. He deteriorated and a nasopharyngeal swab was collected on 21 June and tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus by polymerase chain reaction on 23 June 2023.

The case has no known co-morbidities, no history of contact with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Human cases, and no recent travel outside the  United Arab Emirates. The patient has no known history of direct contact with Animals including Dromedary Camels, nor consumption of their raw products.

All 108 contacts that were identified have been monitored for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus patient, no secondary case was identified. The case has no family members or household contacts identified in the United Arab Emirates.

Prior to this notification, the last Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus infection reported from the United Arab Emirates was in November 2021. The first laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in United Arab Emirates was in July 2013. Since then, the United Arab Emirates has reported 94 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (including this current case) and 12 associated deaths (a Case Fatality Ratio of 13%).

Middle East respiratory syndrome is a viral respiratory infection that is caused by a Coronavirus called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, a form of single-strand RNA Virus. Humans are infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus from direct or indirect contact with Dromedary Camels who are the natural host and zoonotic source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus infection.

Structure and genomic organization of a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Viron. Bleibtreu et al. (2020). 

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus infections range from asymptomatic or mild respiratory symptoms to severe acute respiratory disease and death. A typical presentation of a person with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus disease is fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is a common finding, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported. The Virus appears to cause more severe disease in older people, persons with weakened immune systems and those with chronic diseases such as renal disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes. Severe illness can cause respiratory failure that requires mechanical ventilation and support in an intensive care unit resulting in high mortality.

No vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, although several Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-specific vaccines and treatments are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.

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Britain to repatriate stolen tiles to Uzbekistan.

The UK is to repatriate a collection of six glazed tiles that were stolen from the Shah-i Zinda memorial complex near Samarkand. The tiles were seized by officials at Heathrow Airport, after being discovered in the luggage of a passenger arriving from Dubai. Despite a receipt showing that the tiles were replicas which been purchased in Sharjah for 315 dirham, (about £70 of US85), the apparent age of the tiles raised concerns, and experts at the British Museum were contacted to determine their origin.

 

A tile stolen from a memorial complex in Samarakand and seized by officials at Heathrow Airport. British Museum.

The Shah-i Zinda complex dates from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, when the city was part of the Chagatai Khanate, founded by Chagatai Khan, the second son of Ghengis Khan, in 1226. The tiles are glazed in white, turquoise and cobalt blue, and covered in Qur’anic inscriptions. The tiles will be displayed at the British Museum until December, then returned to Uzbekistan.

 

A tile stolen from a memorial complex in Samarakand and seized by officials at Heathrow Airport. British Museum.

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Beaches in United Arab Emirates closed by oil spill.

Beaches on the coast of the United Arab Emirates around Sharjah have been closed due to a oil slick described as being about 3 km in length washed ashore on Sunday 26 July 2020. The cause of the slick is unclear, but it is thought likely to have been caused by a ship (illegally) cleaning its tanks in international waters; this is the third such slick to wash onto beaches in the nation this year. It is likely to take several days to clear the oil from the beach, during which time the beaches in the area will remain closed until the clean-up operation has been completed.

Oil washed up on Kalba Beach in Sharjah, on Sunday 26 July 2020. Hisn Kalba/Instagram.

Oil spills are potentially harmful to aquatic life in a variety of ways. Most obviously it can coat the outside of organisms, causing damage to external structures such as the feathers of Birds and fur of Mammals, as well as smothering many aquatic invertebrates and plants. It also contains a variety of chemicals which can be directly toxic upset the hormonal balance of many animals. Oil also impedes the feeding of aquatic organisms, coating both food and feeding organs, but provides an excellent food source for Bacteria, which can lead to Eutrophication events - dramatic increases in Bacteria numbers, which then use all the oxygen in the water, leading other organisms to asphyxiate.

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Fireball over the United Arab Emirates.

The International Astronomy Centre in Abu Dhabi has reported a fireball meteor over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 5 March 2019. The object is estimated to have entered the atmosphere at a speed of 67 000 km per hour at about 7.40 pm local time (about 3.40 pm GMT) over the Al Quo'a and Umm Al Zamul area in the south of the country, and to have exploded in an airburst about 35 km above the Razeen area in the north, suggesting an object about 6 m in diameter. A fireball is defined as a meteor (shooting star) brighter than the planet Venus. These are typically caused by pieces of rock burning up in the atmosphere, but can be the result of man-made space-junk burning up on re-entry.

Image of a fireball meteor captured by one of the network of skywatching cameras operated by the International Astronomy Centre in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with NASA. International Astronomy Centre.

A fireball is defined as a meteor (shooting star) brighter than the planet Venus. These are typically caused by pieces of rock burning up in the atmosphere, but can be the result of man-made space-junk burning up on re-entry. This object appeared to move southeast to northwest, and was observed by two of the network of sixteen skywatching cameras operated by the International Astronomy Centre in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with NASA.

Map showing the apparent direction of the 5 March 2019 United Arab Emirates based upon observations by the network of skywatching cameras operated by the International Astronomy Centre in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with NASA. International Astronomy Centre/Google Earth.

Objects of this size probably enter the Earth's atmosphere several times a year, though unless they do so over populated areas they are unlikely to be noticed. They are officially described as fireballs if they produce a light brighter than the planet Venus. The brightness of a meteor is caused by friction with the Earth's atmosphere, which is typically far greater than that caused by simple falling, due to the initial trajectory of the object. Such objects typically eventually explode in an airburst called by the friction, causing them to vanish as an luminous object. However this is not the end of the story as such explosions result in the production of a number of smaller objects, which fall to the ground under the influence of gravity (which does not cause the luminescence associated with friction-induced heating).

 

These 'dark objects' do not continue along the path of the original bolide, but neither do they fall directly to the ground, but rather follow a course determined by the atmospheric currents (winds) through which the objects pass. Scientists are able to calculate potential trajectories for hypothetical dark objects derived from meteors using data from weather monitoring services. On this occasion there thought to be a strong likelihood that fragments of meteorite will have fallen to Earth in the region to the south of Al Wathba.

 

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Plagues of Locusts from Sudan and Eritrea threatens Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Nations around the Red Sea are being threatened by a series of Desert Locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, that have been breeding in Sudan and Eritrea over the winter. The Insects often build up in numbers towards the end of summer in the region, but typically the end of the rainy season in October results in a fall-off of these numbers, but this year exceptionally wet weather in the region has enabled them to keep breeding through the dry season. A further two generations of Locusts have been born in East Africa since October, with one swarm crossing the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia, where they have also been reported to be breeding in the country's Empty Quarter, with Locusts reaching the borders of the United Arab Emirates, and potentially threatening Yemen, a country already devastated by war and famine, and potentially crossing the Persian Gulf to reach southern Iran, Pakistan or even India. Another swarm has been moving up the west coast of the Red Sea, and is thought likely to reach Egypt in the near future.

Desert Locusts in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, this month. Getty Images.

Desert Locusts typically have two or three generations in a year, but when conditions are favourable then five or more generations can occur. The females lay eggs in an ootheca (egg sack) in soft sand, where they can remain dormant until conditions are favourable or hatch within a few days. Hatchlings can reach maturity in about five weeks, eating as much as one-and-a-half times their body weight each day, when they are potentially able to breed again.

The adult form of the Desert Locust has two forms, the more usual solitary form, which does not usually move far from the area where they emerge, and a gregarious form, which forms large swarms and can roam long distances. The change from solitary to gregarious Locusts can happen in individuals, which change from one to the other in response to a rise in population density, but the reverse, a change from gregarious to solitary Locusts, can only happen when a new generation reaches maturity.

Solitary (top) and gregarious (bottom) Desert Locust nymphs. Compton Tucker/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Wikimedia Commons.

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Teenager missing after flash flood in Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates.

Rescue teams are searching for a teenage boy who was swept away by a flash flood close to the town of Khor Fakkan on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday 16 November 2017. Albert Joy, 18, an Indian national studying at the Birla Institute of Technology Dubai Campus at Ras al Khaimah, was travelling in a vehicle with five friends when it became trapped in the flood. Mr Joy's friends were persuaded to leap into the water, from where they were rescued by local residents, but Joy himself was apparently afraid to leave the vehicle and was swept away with it. Local rescue police teams and volunteers searching for Mr Joy have been joined by specialist police rescue teams from Sharjah and Dubai, as well as the Abu Dhabi Police Air Wing.

Indian students on top of a vehicle trapped in a flood near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emiates, on 16 November 2017. UAE2All/The National.

Like many desert areas the Arabian Peninsula, while generally arid, is prone to occasional severe flooding. This stems from two causes; firstly the arid climate prevents the development of a thick soil layer which would be expected in less dry areas, so that in much of the area (non-porous) bedrock is either exposed or close to the surface, and secondly the hot climate leads to heavy evaporation from nearby seas and oceans, so that if the wind changes direction and brings water-laden air to the area, it brings a lot of precipitation with it. This combination of heavy rainfall and low ground absorbency leads to large amounts of water at the surface, typically moving downhill at some speed. Wadis, dry channels or ravines through which these sudden floods are channelled, can be particularly dangerous at these times, particularly as they often appear to resemble natural pathways or even camp sites to people unfamiliar with the climate. 

The approximate location of the 16 November Khor Fakkan flash flood. Google Maps.

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