49.1°C hits Sharjah, humidity likely to go up

Maximum day temperatures peaked to a seasonal record of over 49°C in Sharjah and almost touched 50°C in other interior areas of the UAE as summer temperatures fluctuated between 44°C and 49°C in the past five days. Sharjah recorded a maximum of 49.1°C day temperature and Dubai recorded a maximum temperature of 47.4°C on Wednesday. Humidity is expected to show some increase by late afternoon when the winds change sides from easterly-southeasterly to east-northeasterly by late afternoon over some western internal areas and become east to southeasterly by night and early morning on Thursday, the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said. Chairman of Adco Astronomy Club and member of Abu Dhabi Heritage Group Mohamed Talib Al Salami, commenting on local weather reports appearing in other newspapers and media, said that there was nothing unusual about the current weather in this region. “We are going through the summer months and the maximum temperature is not unusual. The only thing that aggravates the current hot condition is that we did not receive any rain during this year,” he said. Speaking about Ramadan and the season, Al Salami said that it is natural that seasons change and the month of Ramadan also changes every season — after 11 days every year. Thursday and Friday will remain hot and hazy in general during the daytime. Clouds will increase over some eastern and southern areas. Winds will be light to moderate in general, freshening at times, causing dust/sand to blow over the internal areas, and reducing the horizontal visibility at times, the NCMS said. It is the first time in more than 30 years that Ramadan has begun during midsummer, a report said. The last time Ramadan fell this early in the summer was in 1980. It will be 2020 before Ramadan falls wholly outside the summer months, the report added. From: Gulf today