Temperature

I've had friends remark to me that when I first got here I didn't talk much about the heat, but by the spring, that's all I seemed to talk about. I guess, that once you get used to going out and enjoying the nice weather, you notice not being able to leave your apartment a lot more.

Before I begin with the complaining, I'd like to say that from late October to early April, the weather is beautiful. It is a joy to be outside and as I've mentioned in previous posts, there is a lot going on outside to enjoy. If the weather were like that year-round, I'd never want to leave. But what fun would that be if I only said nice things?

Towards the end of May when I was getting up early to go running or cycling (the only times of the day in which exercise outside is possible that time of the year), I would notice that the temperature on the bank clock would read 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at 5:30 in the morning and would sometimes read 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) when I was coming home at 9:00 am. I was able to console myself by realizing that exercising in Japan or in Wisconsin summer heat would seem cool by comparison.

Most people who don't live in Abu Dhabi hear about the heat and assume that it's a dry heat. That is incorrect. In fact, the humidity is regularly in the 70% or 80% range. Admittedly, the humidity is only that high at night when it's a mere 30 deg Celsius (86 deg F). In the day when the temperature reaches the 100's or even 110's the humidity goes down to the 20% to 40% range.

The point when a lot of people determine that it is no longer possible to enjoy being outside is when you leave a building and your sunglasses automatically steam up. That or when standing outside is enough to make you completely sweat though a shirt in five minutes.