Too much hot

"Weathermen said they report only the ambient (environment) temperature which is around three degrees less than then actual under-the-sun temperature"

Bear that in mind when you read the temperatures below.

It's certainly warming up, and it's only May. The saving grace is that humidity is way down low, so it's actually not too uncomfortabe.

Well, as long as you don't spend many minutes out in the sun that is.

Dubai: It was scorching in Jebel Ali on Wednesday with the daytime temperature shooting up to 49C, the highest maximum temperature around the emirates, according to the Dubai Meteorological Office.

Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi all recorded 46C, still way above average for this time of the year, the duty forecaster said.

With humidity at less than 10 per cent, it is still very dry...the comfort index is graded from 'comfortable' to 'high stress'.

The higher the humidity, the higher the stress level. It is at the comfortable zone at the moment as humidity is 7 per cent.

But we know what to expect.

...things will get worse when the monsoon rains reach Mumbai around June 10, said the duty forecaster.

“A lot of moisture will come in from the Arabian Sea around mid-June, pushing humidity levels into the uncomfortable zone,” he said.

I'm not sure that 'uncomfortable' is an adequate word. If the temperature stays at this level and we get our usual summer eighty or ninety percent humidity it's going to be a little more than uncomfortable.

The forecourt attendants who filled my car yesterday were telling me it was too much hot, even though most of the time they managed to work in the shade.

Spare a thought for the gardeners and street sweepers who don't have the advantage of shade.

And worse still, the construction labourers who are doing hard manual work. Most of them come from countries where temperatures are similar to these so they can handle it reasonably well, but even so it can be a killer.

The midday break rule doesn't come into force until July 1st, when they can't work between 12.30 and 3pm, so the current lack of humidity is a real benefit for them. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like for them if these temperatures were combined with high humidity.




Gulf News weather report.