By Steff Gaulter
Now there’s only August to struggle through before we can start to talk about the weather getting less hot and less humid. For many of us, we have already made it through the most difficult time of the year: Ramadan. To go without water during sunlight hours, in the middle of Qatar’s summer, is truly an accomplishment of which you should all be very proud.
So far this year, the highest temperature that has been reached in Doha was 48OC (118OF). This temperature was reported in June and although it’s certainly hot, but not quite as hot as July 2010 when the temperatures climbed to an unpleasant 50.4OC (113OF). I have lived in Doha for over seven years now and so far this is the only time that I have ever known the temperatures climb over 50OC (112OF).
By the time temperatures climb over 40OC (104OF), many people’s eyes simply glaze over as it is frankly just hot! However, it might make you feel slightly better to know that we’re not actually in the hottest place on earth, even if it does feel like it at times.
The hottest temperature ever reported was 56.7OC (134OF) at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913. Previously it had been accepted that Al Aziziya in the suburbs of Tripoli, Libya, held the unenviable record, with a measurement of 58OC (136.4OF). This eye-watering temperature was recorded back in September 1922, but this measurement was disqualified by the World Meteorological Organisation 90 years later.
Discussions with the Libyan Meteorological Centre revealed that Libya didn’t officially recognise the data, and this prompted a lengthy investigation by the World Meteorologist Organisation. Records showed that a new meteorologist took over the observations at Al Aziziya just two days before the extreme temperature was reported.
As soon as the new member of staff started, the maximum temperatures began to exceed the other temperatures on the Libyan coastline by an average of 7OC. This was a very interesting observation, because the Bellani-Six type of thermometer that had apparently been used for this observation had a little slide which measured the maximum temperature. The bottom of this slide gives the reading of maximum temperature, but if the top is used in error, there is an error of about 7OC (12OF).
Re-analysis of the weather conditions on that day flagged up a significant difference from the recorded temperature, and all the evidence, when combined, prompted the international group of meteorologists to come to the conclusion that the record was not sound.
This means that Death Valley now holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth, and there’s no disputing the fact it’s a very hot place!
Temperatures regularly climbing over 47OC (116OF) during the summer, but it also gets very cold in winter. Some of us might think that Doha gets pretty cool in the winter months, but we are nowhere near as cool as Death Valley. In the desert of California, temperatures regularly drop to 3OC (37OF) on a January night.
Many of the places which experience the world’s highest temperatures also see the thermometer fall rather low during the night. That’s because the hottest places are usually the driest places. Without the moisture in the air, the temperature can change more dramatically.
This is because it takes more of the sun’s energy to heat the water in the air, than it does to heat the actual air. This means that when you try to find the hottest place in the world, the results can be quite surprising.
If you search online for the world’s hottest place, then many places claim that it’s Bangkok. The city certainly stays warm throughout the year, and in no month does the average maximum temperature drop below 31C (88F). However, it’s a humid location, so the city doesn’t often see exceptionally high temperatures that we do here in Qatar. The relentless heat that we experience in Qatar in the summer is exhausting, but at least we have some pleasant days in the winter. Between November and March the weather is fabulous, and people spend time outside, having dinner and going for walks.
However, in some parts of the world, particularly in the tropics, there is very little change in the weather.
Every day there is heat and humidity, with showers in the afternoon. This remains the same, not only for the entire summer, but for the entire year. Many people that I know who have lived in southeast Asia have told me that they actually missed the variation in the seasonal weather in Qatar.
We may think that we have very little change in the weather in Qatar, but actually we have more variety than many other countries. It is just the few months of the summer that we have to struggle through, the maximum temperature in August in Qatar is 40.7OC (105OF). This month certainly will be hot, make no mistake. However, there is a silver lining: we are now in August, so the end of the heat is in sight.
