UAE hits record May temperature of 51.6 deg C
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A dashboard display showing an external temperature of 50 deg C outside a vehicle in Dubai on May 23.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates breached its May temperature record for a second day in a row, hitting 51.6 deg C on May 24, according to the National Centre of Meteorology.
“The highest temperature recorded over the country today is 51.6 deg C in Sweihan (Al Ain) at 1345 UAE local time,” the office said in a post on social media platform X – 1.2 deg C hotter than the temperature recorded on May 23 in the Abu Dhabi area.
Both those temperatures exceeded a previous record for the month of 50.2 deg C recorded in May 2009, according to the meteorology office.
The desert nation, a top global oil exporter, lies in one of the planet’s hottest regions and one which is particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, and that these heatwaves 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.
According to a 2022 Greenpeace study, the Middle East is at high risk of water and food scarcity as well as severe heat waves as a result of 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. AFP
