Temperatures during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan could hit 65 degrees Celsius in many areas in Saudi Arabia, according to a climatologist speaking to the Saudi Gazette.

Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al-Ghamdi said temperatures in the shade would reach 50 degrees while under the direct sunlight may reach around 65 degrees. This remains an ambitious claim, however, as the highest temperature ever recorded to date was 56.7 °C at Death Valley, California in 1913.

“Summer will enter to the northern hemisphere on June 21, when the sun will be vertical over the Cancer, thus heating many areas in the Kingdom,” he said, according to the Saudi Gazette.

Al-Ghamdi reportedly said the high temperatures would be coupled with the Indian hot and humid depression, which will increase the feeling of heat during this time of the year.

He said the other factors that may add to the hot temperatures include carbon emissions from factories and car exhausts. “This is in addition to the earthquakes and fires in many parts of the world,” he added, according to the newspaper.

This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on June 1, 2015.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:47 - GMT 06:47