Hot & Humid

Often we are asked about the weather here in Saudi Arabia. And of course the obvious answer is that it's hot, but the humidity factor might surprise you. Yesterday morning I was at the gym and noticed several buckets and bunches of paper towels strategically placed around the exercise equipment. Well it hasn't come close to raining here in over 6 months, but yet the ceiling was leaking! The problem - condensation!

I came home to do a little research and I think you'll find this interesting. But first, I took a few photos of our windows to show the condensation effects we experience in the summer heat.

The following paragraphs attempt to explain the type of heat we experience here.

Heat index

Heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels. This is like “wind-chill index” which combines air temperature and wind speed.

The human body normally cools itself by sweating, which evaporates and carries heat away from the body. However, when the relative humidity is high, evaporation is reduced, so cooling is diminished. Measurements have been taken based on how hot subjects feel for a given temperature and humidity, allowing an index to be made which corresponds to a temperature and humidity combination, called heat index.

At temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F), perceived temperature (heat index) is greatly influenced by relative humidity. However, relative humidity decreases as temperature rises, but increases as temperature falls.

For those of us living in Dhahran, this makes the question of “How hot is it?” a very complicated question.

Climate of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
From Wikipedia

Dhahran’s climate is characterized by extremely hot, humid summers, and cool winters. Temperatures can rise to more than 50 °C (120 °F) in the summer, coupled with extreme humidity (85-100 per cent), given the city’s proximity to the Persian Gulf. Dhahran holds the record for the highest dew point ever recorded in the world. On July 8th, 2003 the dew point was 95 °F (35 °C). The air temperature at the time was 108 °F (42 °C) giving a heat index of 172 °F (78 °C). It also holds the record for the highest temperature recorded in the country - 124 °F (51 °C). In winter, the temperature rarely falls below 2 °C (36 °F) or 3 °C (37 °F), with rain falling mostly between the months of November and May. The Shamal winds usually blow across the city in the early months of the summer, bringing dust storms that can reduce visibility to a few metres. These winds can last for up to three months.

Science Experiment

Scientific Question: How hot is hot?

Hypothesis: It's very hot!.

Data Collection & Observation: (in fehrenheit and celcius , so all our friends can comprehend)

Notice the difference the humidity makes - the increase from actual temperature to what it feels like!

Conclusion: Dhahran is Extremely Hot!

So there's the in-depth answer to what is the weather like here....But don't forget to carry a sweater because the air-conditioning is also extreme!

Our Home

So I've decided it's time to join my blogging family. (You're next David.) I'll start with sharing a bit about where we live. It's called Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - that's in the Eastern Province, located on the Arabian Gulf (or the Persian Gulf as you may know it).

These are typical streets on our compound. It's truly an oasis in the desert.

Below is our street, just in front of our house.

Dhahran is a self-contained town of about 10,000 people. Inside the outer security gates is the outer core where you find the offices, community centre, grocery store, laundromats, fire station, hospital and clinics, etc. Inside another set of ring of security gates are the residential areas with schools, and recreational facilities, including softball and soccer fields, horseback riding areas, swimming pools and an 18-hole golf course. There are two areas - Main Camp and The Hills. We live in The Hills, but don't be confused, it's really lower elevation than Main Camp.

Here is our house. There are several styles of housing and each family is assigned a house based on family size, not position in the company. We live in an adobe. Because David was here and Jennifer still counted in the official family status, we have a 3-bedroom home and are very comfortable. People paint and decorate to customize their homes.

But this is the heart of the home for me. Brian calls it 'Command Central' - my office. It's located in the kitchen area so I'm close to everything I need - kitchen, laundry and computer. It's where I spend most of my time.