The highest temperature was recorded in an area of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf state that lies in one of the world’s hottest regions [GETTY]
The United Arab Emirates registered a sizzling 50.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, the highest on record for May, following weeks of sweltering temperatures in the desert nation, acutely vulnerable to climate change.
Worshippers at Friday prayers reported feeling faint, and some residents appeared unsteady on their feet, even in a country accustomed to extreme temperatures.
The highest temperature was recorded in an area of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf state that lies in one of the world’s hottest regions.
The high temperature of 50.4C (122.7 Fahrenheit) is the hottest in May since records began in 2003, outstripping the 50.2C seen in 2009, the National Centre of Meteorology told AFP.
The UAE, one of the world’s biggest oil exporters and host of the COP28 climate talks in 2023, has just emerged from a record-breaking April with an average daily high of 42.6 degrees Celsius.
‘Swaying right and left’
The NMC on Friday urged residents to stay safe, advising them to keep out of the sun, drink plenty of fluids, wear appropriate attire and use sunscreen.
Friday’s temperatures were accompanied by high humidity of up to 80 percent in some parts of Abu Dhabi.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. The number of extremely hot days has nearly doubled globally in the past three decades.
Outdoor workers in Arab states face some of the highest exposure to heat stress in the world, with 83.6 percent suffering from excessive heat exposure on the job, according to a 2024 report from the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations agency.
The risks from a warming planet were on stark display last June, when more than 1,300 people died while performing the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, according to an official tally, most of them unauthorised pilgrims exposed to long periods outdoors.
According to a Greenpeace study in 2022, the Middle East is at high risk of water and food scarcity and severe heat waves due to climate change.
The report, which focused on six countries including the UAE, found the region was warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, making its food and water supplies “extremely vulnerable” to climate change.
