As the world records record temperaturesEgyptian citizen Essam Gneidi, who makes a living washing cars in the Gulf, one of the hottest regions on the planet, says that the summer in the United Arab Emirates seems to be more intense this year.
“This summer is a bit more difficult than other years,” said Junaidi, who washes cars for 25 dirhams ($6.80) in temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius every day.
He added, “Between 12 noon and 3 in the afternoon or 3:30 we cannot work.”
The oil-rich UAE, which is hosting the United Nations Climate Summit (COP28) this year where the world will try to bolster its response to a warming climate, is used to unbearable summers.
During this period, the streets are deserted, and only migrant workers roam, who are cheap labour. Many workers have a compulsory rest period during the hottest hours of the day.
This is similar across the Gulf. In Bahrain, the average July temperature may break the record of 42.1°C recorded in 2017.
Two weeks ago, more than 1.8 million Muslims performed Hajj ceremonies in Saudi Arabia, with temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius, while thousands were treated for heat exhaustion.
In Kuwait, which always records the highest temperatures in the world, experts warn that the temperature may exceed 50 degrees Celsius in the coming weeks.
The perceived temperature is 60 degrees Celsius
In addition to ranking last week the hottest ever worldwide, a wave of moisture suffocates the Gulf region.
Ahmed Habib, a specialist in meteorology at the National Center of Meteorology in the Emirates, told Agence France-Presse: “During the past week, the temperature was somewhat high, and it ranged in the internal areas between 45 and 49 degrees Celsius, but the feeling of temperatures made people wonder if the temperatures were The temperature is higher (than average).”
He added, “The reasons for feeling high temperatures are the rise in relative humidity, that is, the amounts of water vapor. High relative humidity, along with already high temperatures, gives a feeling that the temperature is higher than it actually is.”
He explained: “The air mass coming from the Sea of Oman or from the Arabian Gulf was loaded with water vapor as a result of its passage over financial flats, and this matter increases the humidity level in the country in general. The perceived temperature reached more than 55 or even between 55 and 60 degrees Celsius in some areas.” “.
The intense heat in the Gulf and high humidity are a dangerous combination. In such conditions, the human body struggles to cool itself by evaporating sweat on the skin.
Habib said, “We advise citizens to replace fluids, and not to be exposed to direct sunlight.”
The Gulf region is one of the few places that have repeatedly recorded temperatures above 35°C on the corpuscular bulb thermometer, the human survival threshold beyond which heat stress can be fatal in a matter of hours, regardless of age, health and fitness.
For this reason, experts warn that accelerating climate change will make parts of the Gulf region uninhabitable by the end of this century.
In Kuwait, meteorologist Issa Ramadan said, “The rise in temperatures during the past year was noticeable.”
“It is expected that from the middle of the month until August 20, there will be a noticeable rise in temperatures, which may exceed 50 degrees Celsius in the shade,” he told AFP.
On the other hand, humidity could reach 90 percent in Bahrain by the end of the week, with maximum temperatures ranging between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius, according to the official weather forecast.
“Our task is difficult”
Temperatures in the Gulf are expected to rise to devastating levels if climate warming is left unchecked, according to Barak Al-Ahmed of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dominique Roy of Climate Research.
In the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, the number of days with temperatures above 40°C will rise by 98% by the year 2100 if global temperatures rise 3°C, according to findings published in June by Vital Sciences, a coalition of rights groups. She works on deaths of migrant workers in the Gulf.
The results also showed that a temperature increase of 3 degrees Celsius will make Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia witness 180 days a year with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
“These conditions may seriously impact human societies, in ways we are just beginning to understand,” Al-Ahmad told Vital Signs.
The sweltering heat and humidity is seriously affecting the daily lives of many in the Gulf, including thousands of motorcyclists from South Asia, who criss-cross its cities delivering food and other packages.
“Our profession is difficult,” Egyptian citizen Mohamed Ragab, one of them, told AFP on a Dubai street.
“We always try to avoid direct sunlight,” he added.
France 24/AFP
2023-07-13 22:49:00
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