Volunteers Take Stargazers to One of UAE’s Last Dark-Sky Deserts as Light Pollution Affects 99% of Population

Volunteers from the Dubai Astronomy Group have taken dozens of people on nighttime excursions to Al Quaa Desert, one of the darkest remaining sites in the United Arab Emirates, to view the Milky Way galaxy. The trips occurred on May 23 and May 24, 2026, roughly 100 kilometers southeast of Abu Dhabi.

Sheeraz Awan, general manager of the Dubai Astronomy Group, guided participants and used a laser pointer to identify stars.

“When you look toward the east, can you see that faint cloud,” Awan asked. ” as he highlighted stars, and several people gasped when meteors streaked across the sky. Long-exposure photographs captured men using a laser pointer to name stars, Emiratis gathered around a telescope, women taking mobile phone pictures, and a family taking mobile phone pictures.

Participants lay on carpets and on the cold desert sand to capture images of the galaxy. The UAE ranks among the world’s most light-polluted countries, along with several other Gulf Arab states whose populations largely live in major cities. A 2016 scientific study concluded “humanity has enveloped our planet in a luminous fog” and suggested 99 percent of the Emirates population could not see the Milky Way from their homes because of artificial lights.

Illumination in the UAE ranges from street lights on roadways to the LED light show at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. 7 billion version of the Sphere on its Yas Island. In 2024, Abu Dhabi authorities created a “Dark Sky Policy” on lighting and other issues across the emirate.

In Dubai, increasingly more buildings have LED displays and LED billboards have become more common. Dubai authorities did not respond to a request for comment. Dubai is also home to Al Qudra Lakes, a rural area with fewer areas of light pollution.

Al Quaa Desert is reached via a major highway to the oasis city of Al Ain, then another road south. The stretch known as Razeen Road has overhead road lights and a heavily lit prison. Razeen Road jogs east at an automatic gate that opens to allow drivers onto an unpaved road leading deeper into the desert.

UAE summertime high temperatures reach around 45 degrees Celsius. Several laborers slept nearby in the back of a pickup truck under the stars. Under one small LED lamp, a Solifugae ate another camel spider after a long struggle.

He also said, “When we look at this Milky Way, we’re kind of involved in an activity, which is not new.