Man covering himself with a magazine to avoid heat stroke from the intense summer sun at Karama in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Man covering himself with a magazine to avoid heat stroke from the intense summer sun at Karama in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Want to know when the UAE summer will be over? Look to the stars



Wladimir Koppen never visited Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

He probably would not have even been able to point out either place on a map.

Yet this Russian-German scientist, who died in 1940 at the age of 93, was the first to officially designate the climate of the region.

The Koppen climate classification, first published in 1884, identifies the UAE as desert – more specifically, as BWh, with the B representing desert and the W meaning low rainfall.

The h stands, perhaps unsurprisingly, for hot.

Everyone who lives here is familiar with the reality of BWh: long, hot, dry and dusty summers, marked by periods of extreme humidity and lasting from the end of May until October. This summer is no exception – even by the end of June, the thermometer had hit the high 40s in many parts of the country and a shirt-drenching 95 per cent humidity struck coastal areas.

This intense humidity is caused by the warming of the sea, which increases evaporation, with hotter land temperatures meaning the air absorbs more of this water.

We especially notice high humidity when it reaches the point where the air can no longer absorb more moisture, particularly our sweat. This disrupts the body's natural cooling process.

There are other consistent weather patterns in the region that we have already observed this year – cold fronts moving from the north, for example, draw up clouds of dust into the atmosphere. These are then blown to the UAE by prevailing winds as dust storms.

Forecasters warned last week of poor visibility caused by blowing dust and strong winds in Dubai and haze in Abu Dhabi.

More unusual were the periods of rain that accompanied the dust, which are the result of convective clouds forming.

An alternative way of measuring the seasons is with a traditional Al Drour calendar.

Dating back at least 500 years, it divides the year into four seasons marked by the visibility of certain stars.

Each season is identified with particular weather cycles associated with harvesting and fishing.

The calendar has three seasons of 100 days and a 60-day period of intense heat known as Al Qaiz. This includes all of July, the second half of June and part of August.

June was traditionally the height of the pearl harvest, with large fleets gathering at the oyster beds so divers could take advantage of the warmer seas. July is the time when dates ripen and are harvested. August brings the peak heat and the risk of storms at sea.

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Read more:

Think it's hot in the UAE? Spare a thought for muggy Montreal and boiling Belfast

Special report: Abu Dhabi's dwindling water reserves charted in worrying Sorbonne research

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The tail end of August is when the Suhail star, also known as Canopus, becomes visible. It is the second-brightest star, after Sirius, and was named by Arab scientists in the 7th century. Bedouin used it for navigation.

First appearing low on the horizon, the significance of Suhail in Al Drour is that it marks a change of seasons, from the heat of Al Qaiz to Al Safri, the official start of the almanac.

Last year, Suhail was visible in the UAE for the first time in the third week of August.

The heat and humidity will still be here for a while, but for those looking for the first sign that summer is ending, the wait is only five weeks away.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Panga'

Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta

Rating: 3.5/5

The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school

 

Company%20profile
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

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What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

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Company profile

Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs