The current spell of heatwave will continue for another week, according to Oman Meteorology.

An official at Oman Met told the ‘Observer’ that the current spell of heatwave would continue this week. Temperatures, however, would drop to 30s by April 18.

“It is expected to rise again towards the following weekend.”

“We expected the temperatures to be milder during the fasting month of Ramadhan, and that has been not the case earlier. But still, days are shorter and a reprieve for us”, Sulaiman, a resident of Maabela, said.

For the second straight day, several governorates, including Muscat, witnessed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, according to Oman Meteorology. The hottest places were Al Seeb (41°C), Al Amerat (42°C), followed by Al Buraimi (42°C), Fahud (43°C) and Adam (42°C).

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, the following places recorded the highest and lowest temperatures.

According to experts, the average high temperature seen in Muscat during April is generally 34.7 degrees Celsius, while low temperatures are generally around 24.7 degrees Celsius.

Several countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar reported strong dust storms from Iraq.

Meanwhile, warning of extreme months ahead, the United Nations in a new report has warned unless nations drastically accelerate efforts over the next few years to slash their emissions from coal, oil and natural gas, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, will likely be out of reach by the end of this decade.

Scientists say the dangers of global warming, including worsening floods, droughts and ecosystem collapse, are growing considerably.

Holding warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius would require nations to collectively reduce their planet-warming emissions by roughly 43 per cent by 2030 and stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere altogether by the early 2050s, the report found. By contrast, current policies by governments are only expected to reduce global emissions by a few percentage points this decade. Last year, fossil fuel emissions worldwide rebounded to near-record highs after a brief dip because of the coronavirus pandemic.

@vinot_nair