By Ramesh Mathew
Staff Reporter Qatar baked yesterday in the scorching summer heat with the officially recorded maximum temperature hitting 48C.
Hot conditions prevailed even early in the day as temperatures hovered around 36.3C at 5.30am.
The hot weather will continue today with the expected maximum temperature again at 48C.
“The situation is nothing unusual, and similar situations were experienced in the country even in the previous years,” a weather official said.
Temperatures could be a little higher in the desert areas and the heat could be more intense in open areas.
Attributing the blistering conditions to the movement of southwesterly winds from the central part of Saudi Arabia, which is the “nucleus” of the Arabian deserts, the Met official said Qatar and Kuwait could experience higher temperatures.
When pointed out that the temperature display in cars showed as high as 50C in Doha yesterday, the official attributed it to the heat radiated from the tarred roads.
When asked if this summer was going to be hotter than in the previous years, the official said it was too early to forecast long-range climatic conditions. | 
