Everybody talks about the weather...

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Most of the time here in Qatar we don't think about the weather. It's going to be sunny and hot, or sunny and warm, or sunny and really hot. But when we start to edge towards December, the weather takes on an edge of its own.

While midday temperatures are still reaching the high 20s, once the sun goes down the warmth disappears with it. Evening temperatures are around 22 or 23, but it feels much colder. And early morning can drop to 18 or less; when I left for work on Thursday it was 14.

The security guards at the gate have started wearing hats, scarves, and gloves after sunset. They managed to get out quickly; there were news reports this week of some heavy buying of winter wear. So tomorrow I will be going out to buy a heater, since they tend to get bought up rapidly. We don't need a wood stove, just a little something to take the dampness and chill out of the air. Sounds like a strange comment to make in a desert country, but remember Qatar is also a maritime country, a peninsula stuck out into the Arabian Gulf. The high humidity of August and September has dropped off, but there is still moisture in the cool air, a dampness that can ache your bones. Even in the Middle East.

Comments

Nancy Barnes said…
You realise, of course, no one is going to commiserate with you.
30 November 2007 at 15:53
Anonymous said…
Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's the saying at any rate. Of course one would think that coming from Newfoundland was more than adequate to preparation for those temperature drops. Or as my eldest would say, "put on your big girl panties and deal with it!"

:-)
Jim
30 November 2007 at 22:19
Bob said…
I still leave the AC on in my bedroom. The option is to open the window and let these cool winter breezes blow in. But the dust (I live in a construction zone) and the noise (I live in a construction zone next to a 6-lane superhighway)keep me from doing that.
3 December 2007 at 04:44
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