Deep summer arrives across the Arabian Peninsula on July 3, when the season known as Jamrat Al Qayth ushers in the year’s most punishing stretch of heat, according to the Emirates Astronomy Society. Some desert zones will see daytime readings climb past 50 degrees Celsius amid parched, arid air.
Its literal sense, “Embers of Summer,” reflects what the 40-day span represents in Arabian tradition: the hottest and driest window of the calendar. The period conventionally opens around mid-July and, in the Society’s reckoning this year, extends through August 10.
In a Khaleej Times report, Ibrahim Al Jarwan, who chairs the Emirates Astronomy Society and belongs to the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, said the season carries a long-standing reputation as the harshest and most parched time of year throughout the peninsula. Dry, searing Samoom winds pick up during these weeks, he noted, and temperatures in certain desert stretches can push beyond 50°C.
Recurring heatwaves are another hallmark of the period. Locally termed Waghrat Al Qayth, these episodes hold temperatures at least 4°C above the seasonal norm for two or more days in a row.
The astronomical markers that define the season begin before dawn, when the first star of the Gemini constellation clears the eastern horizon. Al Jarwan traced the sequence through the rising of Al Haq’ah on July 16 and Al Mirzam on July 29. What follows the season’s close is a shift rather than a reprieve: the appearance of Al Nathrah, known as the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe within the constellation Cancer, arrives on August 11 and signals the summer’s final phase, when steady heat combines with rising humidity across the UAE.
