UAE hits highest May temperature on record at 50.4C

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded on Friday its highest temperature for May since it began documenting them in 2003 at a sweltering 50.4 degrees celsius, according to the National Centre of Meteorology.

“The highest temperature recorded over the country today is 50.4°C in Al Shawamekh (Abu Dhabi) at 14:30 UAE Local time,” it said in a post on X.

Temperatures in the UAE had surpassed the 50°C mark in the last month of June last year.

The most intense summer period in the region typically starts from mid-July and extends through the end of August. Alongside the high temperatures, humidity levels soar to 90 per cent with dust storms originating from the desert.

In line with limiting activity during the hottest times of the day, the UAE government last year implemented the midday break, which prohibited work under direct sunlight and in open-air areas between 12.30pm and 3.00pm, from June 15 to September 15.