The Najm Al Hana’a started on 16 July and led to a significant rise in humidity that exceeded 85% in some areas.

Qatar’s hot temperatures are expected to gradually dip starting from the last week of August, an official from Doha’s Meteorology Department said on Tuesday.

The assuring remarks came during a Qatar Radio interview with Abdulla Al-Mannai, the Director of Meteorology Department, who offered a detailed view of the Gulf state’s current climate.

Al-Mannai said while some deem it to be unbearable, the current summer temperatures are within the normal range for this time of year.

“So far, we have not broken a record temperature. We monitor the weather based on our stations…we can say that it [the temperature] is in the normal range, although it makes people feel that it is not normal,” Al-Mannai said.

The official detailed the temperature’s phases, noting that the country is currently witnessing the “heat ember”, or “Jamrat al Qaith”, period that typically lasts for 33 days. 

The season begins with the 13-day “Najm Al Hana’a”, which is considered the hottest period in Qatar, in which rising temperatures are coupled with humidity. 

The Najm Al Hana’a started on 16 July, when a significant rise in humidity that exceeded 85% in some areas and a low visibility was recorded, Qatar Weather said at the time.

The season then shifts to “Najm Al Dra’a”, followed by “Najm Al Nathra”, and then “Najm Suhail”, which is expected to begin any time from 24-to-26 August, though the date might change depending on the climate.

Astronomers in the region have long relied on the appearance of Najm Suhail’s, or the “Suhail Star”, as an indicator of the end of the summer season and beginning of winter.