Adapting UAE’s Urban Planning for Extreme Rainfall and Flood Risks

This research data supports the findings presented in the manuscript titled "Adapting UAE’s Urban Planning for Extreme Rainfall and Flood Risks". It contains ERA5 reanalysis data, Python code, and outputs not fully included in the manuscript due to word and space limitations.

1. ERA5 Reanalysis Data (.nc Files):
The two NetCDF files are sourced from the Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis dataset and cover critical periods of extreme rainfall in the UAE, specifically:

April24.nc: Contains hourly climate data from April 1 to April 30, 2024.
July22.nc: Contains hourly climate data from July 1 to July 31, 2022.
The key variables extracted include total precipitation, wind speed (u10 and v10 components), and mean sea level pressure. These files enable a detailed analysis of the onset, progression, and impact of extreme rainfall events in the UAE. The coordinates corresponding to the geographical area extracted are as follows:

North: 32.25°
South: 12°
East: 70.4°
West: 41.92°

2. Analysis Code:
The Python code provided in this dataset is designed to process and analyze the ERA5 reanalysis data. The code can be accessed through the following Google Colab link: https://colab.research.google.com/drive/129bgvv6TEyLsxqfLkK0K5cixtjU8wajS?usp=sharing

The code performs the following functions:

Data Extraction: Parses the NetCDF files to extract relevant variables, including total precipitation, wind speed, and mean sea level pressure.
Wind Speed Calculation: Combines the u10 and v10 wind vector components to calculate the total wind speed.
Data Visualization: Generates time series plots to visualize the temporal evolution of key climatic variables for the selected regions (Abu Dhabi and East Coast). Additionally, the Cartopy library is used to create synoptic visualizations of the spatial distribution of precipitation and wind patterns over time.
3. Outputs (Hourly Snapshots and Videos):
Due to space constraints in the manuscript, some key visual outputs could not be fully included. The outputs, included in the accompanying ZIP files, provide detailed hourly snapshots and videos of the weather patterns during extreme rainfall events:

AbuDhabi_output.zip: Contains hourly snapshots of precipitation and wind vectors for the April 2024 event in Abu Dhabi. A time-lapse video combining these snapshots is also included to visually illustrate the progression of the weather system.
Fujairah_output.zip: Contains similar hourly snapshots and a time-lapse video for the July 2022 extreme rainfall event along the East Coast of the UAE.