It’s summer.
We moved here last August and it was Very Hot.
It’s June 1 today and already it’s hotter now than it was last August.
How hot? Really hot.
For those of you thinking “it’s a dry heat, though, so it’s not that bad,” let me adjust your perceptions: the city perches on the edge of the Gulf, which creates a lovely swamp-like effect, similar to what you get in New Orleans (but without the consolation of Cajun cooking or jazz). Think air like hot wet towels, think Bikram yoga studio after a full day of sweaty-bodied yoga classes, think sauna.
And even in New Orleans, I bet residents don’t get warnings like this one:
“As advised by the UAE Defence Ministry, car owners should not fill their fuel tank to full, as for the next few weeks temperature will climb up to 53-54 degrees which can cause the fuel tank to burst/explode. Please pass this message to all your contacts, as all of us here are in the habit of filling our car tanks to full. Please remember that prevention is better than cure and enjoy safe motoring.”
For those of you not celsius-savvy, 53-54 is about 120F. And yes, I do believe you could cook an egg on the sidewalk.
Or maybe this notice in the newspaper the other day:
“The midday break for outdoor labourers will be from June 15 to September 15, the Ministry of Labour said yesterday. Working outside will be banned from 12.30 to 3pm, and companies must provide water and shaded areas for labourers. Each violation carries a Dh15,000 penalty.”
True, it does seem that water and shaded areas should be provided as a matter of course, but… hey, we’re talking about laborers here, which in Abu Dhabi seems to be a category sometimes unrelated to “people.”
So yeah. It’s hot. So hot that I bet even Cole Porter couldn’t make a song of it.
At least in UAE they take care of labourers a bit. They were the first to ban the back of the open truck transportation of them. On many other highways around the gulf it can still be seen. Not to mention the truck would sometimes just slow down and let them jump….
Wow. If the treatment in AD is an IMPROVEMENT then I shudder to think about what it used to be. It’s astonishing. Everyday it’s a lesson in BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE.
Our first summer here in Abu Dhabi we did see a cooked egg on the sidewalk outside the Marks & Spencer building! I couldn’t understand the kids playing out there well enough to know how long it had taken, but it was fairly solid.
only one word for this: ewwww
and yet also? curious to try it myself.
hmm