Manama: Qatar's longest day in the year was also the hottest with experts agreeing that the unusually high temperatures experienced in Qatar and the Gulf region over the last five days indicate a significant shift in weather patterns.
The temperatures recorded this year are 5-7 degrees Celsius higher than in the corresponding period last year, Qatari daily The Peninsula said.
Maximum temperatures on June 18, 19 and 20, last year, were 44, 43 and 42 degrees Celsius respectively.
However, this year, all the three days recorded a high of 49C. There was also a major shift in the minimum temperature recorded during the same period.
Doha-based experts said in a gathering discussing climate change that Qatar's temperature will go up by 2C over the next 40 years.
However, meteorologists attributed the exceptional rise in the temperatures to the early arrival of the hot and humid south-westerly wind blowing from the Saudi Arabian deserts.
Humid winds
"The weather should not have been so hot this month. But we have been receiving warm and humid south-westerly winds for the last four days [thus forcing temperatures up]. Normally, we receive this wind during the peak of summer," the official was quoted as saying.
The high temperatures are set to continue for a few more days, the Met department said, warning outdoor workers to take extra precautions.
In Bahrain, patients and medical staff at Salmaniya Medical Complex, the country's largest hospital, on Monday were hit by an hour-long power cut which electricity officials attributed to a fault in high voltage power lines.
The failure, however, did not affect any of the critical services and back-up generators powered intensive care units. Faisal Al Hamer, the health minister, later visited the hospital to monitor the situation.
Record high temepratures in Bahrain have forced several construction companies take the humanitarian decision of resting their labourers in the afternoon.
An official ban on outdoor work from noon to 4pm is set to start on July 1 and last until August 31.
Meteorologists said that the heat wave gripping the region will soon end with the northerly-shamaal winds expected to bring temperatures down.
