May, June, July and August – Qatar’s sweltering summer isn’t over yet. According to the meteorology department, residents should expect a few more months of miserable weather before cooler winter temperatures kick in.

If this summer felt particularly hot to you, that’s because it has been. In a statement this week, the MET said maximum temperatures in July hit 48.2C (119F) in Doha – some 6C higher than what Qatar usually sees during that month.

Outside the capital, temperatures exceeded 50C (122F), which was 7.4C higher than the average, the MET said.

El Niño

Commenting on the unusually hot weather the country has seen this summer, the MET blamed global warming and El Niño, a climate pattern that describes changes in trade winds across the Pacific Ocean.

Those winds accompany increases in sea temperature, which can lead to extreme weather conditions across the globe.

The MET continued:

“The rise in temperature will remain particularly in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf for the next couple of months (up to the month of October) as well as the increase in the relative humidity…

Average humidity levels in August hover around 70 percent, but are expected to be higher this month, the MET added, attributing the increase to “unusual light surface wind and slack pressure gradient and sea breeze for long time during the day.”

Thoughts?