UAE in the grip of a heat wave

Thursday was a scorcher across the UAE, with temperatures climbing up to 49 degrees Celcius in the desert and 44C in coastal areas. And by 10 am, it was 43C in Dubai. “It harsh, probably the hottest day of my life in Dubai since 2008,” said Kim Richards, a British expatriate. It is the time for extreme caution, she said, for field workers, children who play outdoor games, and expatriates from the colder parts of the world. The most uncomfortable time of all is at 2pm when the mercury stood at mid-40s and there is high humidity, she said. Nothing was, however, unusual for forecaster who said temperature always shot up to go up to 49c in some parts of the country at this time of the year. “It’s the peak summer time and its desert that sizzles under the sun,” said a duty forecaster at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS). The temperature in Dubai is expected to go up to 44C in the next two days —just 3.6C shy of the city’s all-time record temperature of 47.2C during June. At night, it will drop down to 33C at night — but increased humidity will offer little respite. The NCMS forecaster said the UAE is in the grip of a heat wave and conditions are very uncomfortable for the human body. The comfort index reached six on Thursday, indicating a high discomfort for people in the open. The scale is used to calculate the body’s reaction to weather conditions, with a maximum level of 10 causing extreme stress. Based on the comfort index, 46C actually feels like 51C due to a humidity level of 70 per cent or more. Temperature likely to remain uncomfortably high until Sunday.