Dubai’s Extreme Weather: Travel Firms Face Higher Costs
Photo Credit: Aerial view of Dubai. Credit: Christoph Schulz Dubai Media Office / Dubai Media Office
Skift Take
Dubai's floods seemed freakish. But the climate emergency could make weather more volatile in other places, too. Expect rising costs for insurance, disaster preparedness, and recovery.
Dubai, situated in one of the world’s driest regions, was hit with a second bout of heavy rains and strong winds this week — just two weeks after the desert metropolis was covered in a year's worth of rain in the span of 12 hours.
Dubai's extreme weather may lead to insured losses of up to $850 million across infrastructure, roads, buildings, vehicles, and public facilities, estimated the reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.
The extreme weather event is one of many that have brought attention to climate insurance, and experts expect policy prices to rise. From airports to tours to hospitality to destination management, unforeseen climate events can have extreme impacts on the travel industry.
Downpours in the desertBetween April 14 and 17, floods brought Dubai to a standstill. The city's airport, the second-busiest in the world, shut down, hundreds of flights were canceled, and people and cars were stranded. In Dubai and neighboring Oman,
