The rainfall that caused at least 20 deaths in Oman and four in Dubai last week was made 10-40% more intense by climate change, according to a rapid study by a group of international climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution Group .Rains usually occur in the Arabian Peninsula during March and April, often short, infrequent, and intense, so the rainfall itself was normal.
Meanwhile, scientists at the WWA also looked at how El Niño could have influenced the extreme rainfall and their observations indicate "El Niño plays an important role in the likelihood of heavy rain episodes in this part of the world, as the heaviest rainfall events in the region all occurred during El Niño years," the press statement said.