Muscat; There will be a gradual rise in temperatures in the current week (Monday-Thursday), according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Oman Meteorology.
Maximum temperatures are expected to reach 40° Celsius in the middle of this week, especially in desert areas.
In the last 24 hours, Barka recorded 41.1° Celsius, Suwaiq 40.2 ° Celsius, and Al Amerat 39.8 ° Celsius.
Some wilayats of Al DHakhiliyah, North al Batinah, Muscat, South al Sharqiyah, South al Batinah, Dhofar, North al Sharqiyah, Al Dhahriah, and Al Wusta are expected to get rains of varying intensity (20-45 mm), which might lead to flash floods, poor horizontal visibility.
Hottest year
The year 2023 was the warmest since global records began in 1850 at 1.18°C above the 20th-century average of 13.9°C. This value is 0.15°C more than the previous record set in 2016.
The 10 warmest years in the 174-year record have all occurred during the last decade (2014–2023).
Of note, the year 2005, which was the first year to set a new global temperature record in the 21st century, is now the 12th-warmest year on record.
The year 2010, which had surpassed 2005 at the time, now ranks as the 11th-warmest year on record.
Heatwave
Large parts of Asia are sweltering through a heatwave that has topped temperature records from and forced millions of children to stay home, including schools.
In India, record temperatures have triggered a deadly heatwave while extreme heat also forced Bangladesh to close all schools.
Extreme temperatures have also been recorded in Myanmar and Thailand, while huge areas of the Philippines are suffering from a drought.
Experts say climate change has made heatwaves more frequent, longer, and more intense, while the El Nino weather phenomenon is also driving this year’s exceptionally warm weather.
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