Current conditions in the UAE are exceeding the typical range for this time of year.
Dubai: Although it is still officially spring in the UAE, conditions outside tell a different story.
The heat already feels like peak summer, with temperatures in some parts of the country reaching 45°C this week — levels typically seen later in the season rather than at the end of April.
The contrast is striking. Spring is typically a period of gradual transition into warmer weather, but this year the shift has felt abrupt.
Climatologically, late April is expected to bring moderate heat, with daytime highs staying below peak summer extremes. However, recent temperatures have surged well beyond those seasonal norms.
In some areas, temperatures have exceeded 40°C, with peaks reaching as high as 45°C—several degrees above the seasonal average for this time of year.
So what does this mean for May and the summer ahead?
According to Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Astronomical Society and a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, the current conditions point to a noticeable—though not unprecedented—departure from typical patterns.
In an interview with Gulf News, Al Jarwan said temperatures have been rising steadily, but what the UAE is experiencing now is above the expected range for this time of year.
In the final week of April, temperatures in some areas climbed to 45°C, compared to the more typical highs below 38°C.
Such variations are not unusual, he noted, but they can give the impression that summer has arrived earlier than expected—especially when temperatures rise sharply after mid-April.
Despite the early spike, longer-term outlooks point to relative stability, with May and June likely to remain within their usual ranges, even if the season has started on a hotter-than-normal note.
As May approaches, weather conditions are expected to return to what is typical for the season. It will remain hot and sunny, with daytime temperatures generally ranging between 38°C and 40°C in coastal areas, while inland regions may gradually rise to around 44°C or 45°C as the month progresses.
By the end of May, sustained high temperatures and the onset of more consistent heatwaves usually mark the beginning of what many consider the true summer.
This makes the current conditions feel less like an anomaly and more like an early preview. May is traditionally seen as the gateway to summer in the UAE, bringing long sunny days, increasing humidity—especially along the coast—and warm nights that offer little relief from the daytime heat.
Yet beyond meteorology, there is another way of understanding the season. For generations, desert communities have followed a calendar guided by the sky rather than fixed dates.
According to the Emirates Astronomical Society, the period known as “Ghayoub Al Thuraya,” or the disappearance of the Pleiades, began on April 28. This marks the onset of one of the earliest phases of heat and dryness, typically lasting around 40 days.
Traditionally, it signals a time for caution, when physical activity is reduced and daily routines adapt to the intensifying heat.
In that sense, summer has effectively already begun, even if it will not officially start until June 21. As the season progresses, the influence of the Indian monsoon low-pressure system is expected to grow, bringing hotter and more humid air into the region.
Temperatures in some areas could approach 50°C later in the season, particularly in the southern and western regions of the country, while rising humidity and occasional convective clouds may bring brief, sometimes intense, rainfall.
As May approaches, conditions are expected to stabilise into the seasonal norm, with hot and sunny weather prevailing. Daytime temperatures will generally range between 38°C and 40°C in coastal areas, while inland regions are likely to gradually climb to around 44°C or 45°C as the month progresses.
