UAE's hottest summer period to begin on July 3, with temperatures above 50°C

Dubai: The UAE and the wider Arabian Peninsula will enter the year's hottest period on July 3, when the traditional Jamrat Al Qayth season begins, bringing extreme heat, dry conditions and daytime temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in some desert areas, the Emirates Astronomy Society said.

The season starts with the pre-dawn rising of the first star of the Gemini constellation above the eastern horizon and lasts until August 10, marking the second phase of the Gulf's traditional summer period and the peak of the region's intense heat.

Ibrahim Al Jarwan, chairman of the Emirates Astronomy Society and a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, said Jamrat Al Qayth is traditionally regarded as the hottest and driest period of the year across the Arabian Peninsula.

Jamrat Al Qayth meaning the "Embers of Summer" is the traditional name for the hottest 40-day period of the year in the Arabian Peninsula, which typically begins in mid-July.

Al Jarwan said scorching, dry Samoom winds become more frequent during the season, while temperatures in some desert regions can exceed 50°C under extremely hot and arid conditions.

He added that the season is also characterised by recurring heatwaves, known locally as Waghrat Al Qayth, during which temperatures remain at least 4°C above normal for two or more consecutive days.

He said the season begins with the appearance of Al Haq'ah, the first of the Gemini stars, before the subsequent rising of Al Haq'ah on July 16 and Al Mirzam on July 29. The period ends with the appearance of Al Nathrah, also known as the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe in the constellation Cancer, which corresponds with the peak of the summer heat and the onset of high humidity in the UAE on August 11. It marks the start of the final phase of the traditional summer season, characterised by persistent heat combined with high humidity.