In total, five countries experienced a temperature increase above 50 degrees. And, Saturday, 51 degrees Celsius was recorded in Sweihan (United Arab Emirates) and Amida (Iran). Jahra (Kuwait) recorded 50.8 degrees, and Al-Sunaina (Oman) and Sibi (Pakistan) saw a rise in temperature to 50.1 degrees.
On Sunday, the temperature rose an astonishingly high, reaching 51.8 degrees in Sweihan. MeteoFrance told the Washington Post that the record for July 2, 2017, had been broken. Then 51.3 degrees were measured. It’s the highest temperature ever recorded in June in the United Arab Emirates and equals the national record on July 30, 2017 in Mazira, according to climate historian Max Herrera. At such temperatures, asphalt can melt and train tracks can deform.
More records may be shattered this year, as the region’s highest temperatures are usually measured in early July. Moreover, the so-called “thermal dome” under which warm air sticks, would not be that dense, despite the standard temperatures.
The Middle East is one of the warmest regions in the world, with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees and more and persistent droughts becoming the norm, in part as a result of climate change.
