Gulf News

Al Ain/Dubai, July 25: Parts of the UAE were blanketed with cloud on Monday - but that did not stop temperatures from racing up to sizzling levels.

In Dubai the mercury climbed up to 45C, which is close to the record temperature in the city so far this year.

Today is expected to be just as hot with forecasters saying the weather will be "hazy and uncomfortable."

Residents in some parts of the UAE saw temperatures climb to a sweltering 47C on Monday.

Clive Stevens, a forecaster at Dubai International Airport, said: "The temperatures are fairly typical for this part of the year. We are in high summer."

The cloud cover was caused by winds pushing in monsoon clouds from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea onto the Arabian Peninsula.

A meteorologist at the UAE Met Authority said: "The moisture-laden air and the hot temperature in Oman and UAE has created hazy conditions," said the weatherman, adding that rain was unlikely anywhere in the UAE.

Low or towering clouds could, however, cover the eastern part of the country particularly in the afternoon and evening.

The minimum temperature in Dubai on Monday was 32.5C. For Tuesday, forecasters are expecting a maximum in Dubai of 45C and a minimum of 33C, much the same as Monday.

Stevens said that from tomorrow maximum temperatures might fall slightly for two to three days before returning back to seasonal norms.

The highest temperature so far this year in Dubai has been 45.2C, which was recorded on Sunday.

Forecasters said conditions would be relatively humid at night and hazy by early morning, especially in coastal areas.

Temperatures this summer are unlikely to have peaked yet, since the average maximum daily temperature for August is marginally higher than that for July.