Burj Khalifa: window cleaners to spend months on world's tallest building

A team of 36 cleaners, mostly made up of migrant workers, have been employed to man 12 state-of-the-art machines that travel along tracks fixed to the exterior of the building while its windows are washed.

It is an unenviable task, but someone has to do it.

Operating at heights of 2,000 feet and covering 40 storeys each, the 13 ton machines will ply the superscraper's facade even in high wind, blazing sun and during dust storms, with the cleaners inside harnessed to metal cages.

The cleaners will carry electrolyte packs and wear specialised clothing resembling moon suits, while working only on parts of the building that are in shade.

An Australian company, Cox Gomyl, won the contract to clean the building's 24,000 reflective windows and about 120,000 sq metres of glass.

Dale Harding, its general manager, said cleaning the building was a massive task. The company has designed and built a £4.6 million million window-washing system to keep the pride of Dubai sparkling.

When not in use, the machines will be hidden at various heights behind glass panels.