Weather update: UAE summer heat crosses 50°C as thunderstorms, heavy rain hit parts of the country

The UAE recorded its highest temperature of the summer so far on Tuesday, with the mercury touching 50.1°C in Owtaid, in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region, at 2:15pm local time, according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).

The reading topped the country's list of hot spots for the day, followed by 50°C in Mezaira'a at 4:15pm, 49.6°C in Al Shawamekh at 1:15pm, 49.3°C in Madinat Zayed at 2:30pm, and 49.2°C at the Western Region Border Guard post at 5:45pm, all of them in the desert interior of Abu Dhabi.

Even as inland areas endured near-record heat, much of the country saw a very different kind of weather unfold through the afternoon and evening. Storm trackers reported a run of rainfall across several emirates, with showers described as "good rain" falling over the capital, Abu Dhabi, as well as Al Madam and Faili in Sharjah, Al Manama and Al Haniyah south of Ras Al Khaimah, and Thoban in Fujairah. Thundery rain was also reported over central areas around Failai and Al Thamid.

The contrast captures a pattern that has defined much of this week: scorching daytime highs in the western desert paired with convective, often thundery showers over the east, south and central parts of the country.

NCM's temperature map for Tuesday showed a wide spread, from a low of around 32.5°C in the northern mountains to the 50°C-plus readings recorded in the interior, underlining just how differently the heat and the rain are being felt depending on where in the UAE you are standing.

With Jamrat Al Qayth, the traditional peak of summer heat, continuing through mid-August, residents should expect this pattern to persist for now: intense afternoon heat in the desert interior, interrupted by spells of rain and thunderstorms elsewhere in the country.