DOHA: There were a total of 15 days last year when day temperatures peaked at over 45 degrees Celsius in the country.
And a majority eight of those 15 days fell in July alone, official statistics on weather conditions in 2015 show. As for average temperatures in 2015, the highest was in Al Karaana (36.7 degrees C), while the lowest was in Al Ruwais in the north (30.3 degrees C). The figures were released yesterday by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics on the occasion of World Meteorological Day. The Ministry said it is issuing the figures in collaboration with the Civil Aviation General Authority (its meteorology department).
As for rainfall, Doha International Airport area witnessed the maximum — 114.5mm — in the year, while Messaieed ranked second with 95.4mm. The maximum rainfall was witnessed in the airport area in December followed by November.
Al Ruwais was the most humid place in the year with the average humidity being 67.9 percent, followed by Dukhan (59.2 percent).
The brightest place in terms of exposure to sunlight was Al Karaana, which had 306.1 sunshine hours in the year. Dukhan had the lowest exposure as the sunshine hours in the year were only 238.5.
There were an average of eight hours of sunshine in winter last year while 10 hours in summer at Doha International Airport. The sun is perpendicular over a large part of the airport area which receives a great deal of sunlight. The key factors behind these high temperatures consist in the continental location, sky clarity and absence of vegetation.
March 23 is observed as the World Meteorological Day by the World Meteorological Organization, its members and the worldwide meteorological community.
The theme for 2016 is “Hotter, Drier, Wetter. Face the Future”, according to the Ministry release.
In the Doha International Airport area, the highest maximum temperature was recorded in 2014 (47 degrees C) while the highest minimum was in 2013 (33.9 degrees C). Last year, the highest maximum temperature in the area was 42.3 degrees C while the highest minimum was 32.7 degrees C.
The Peninsula
