Even two weeks ago, it was “only” 105 here in Abu Dhabi. I stuck my head out the door, waited for the heat to slap me in the face … and decided I could make the 25-minute walk down to the supermarket. And I was right. Though I may not have wanted to go another 100 yards.

This week? No. Not going to try it.

It was 109 today, and it’s still going up.

How far up?

The prediction is for a high of 111 tomorrow, and then up to 118 a few miles from the coast, on Wednesday and Thursday.

I did a bit of exercise, indoors, and then I went out to “warm down” (the concept still applies, even if it’s now physically impossible) … and I had that old “serious summer” sensation:

“This heat could kill people!”

A reporter at The National has pretty much suggested that, in a story: “Residents are advised to remain indoors or avoid direct exposure to the sun … with no significant changes in the coming days.”

So, it has gone from “heat we desert-dwellers can handle, if only just” to “even the Bedouin are staying in the shade” hot.

It has shifted from “uncomfortable, if the AC went out” to “potentially fatal, if the AC went out.”

I seriously considered taking an umbrella with me when I went outside to hail a cab. To shield me from the sun for the five minutes or so I would be out of doors.

What is depressing is that July and August are even hotter. Or can be. The weather chart on Abu Dhabi’s wiki page seems to suggest June is the hottest month here. Other sources suggest the other way round.

The chart also seems to indicate 115 is the record high, and if that is the case we could break that record this week. (But this source gives the record high in Abu Dhabi as 49.2 Celsius, which is 120.5 Fahrenheit. I’m thinking the record here has to be at least 120.)

It might be interesting to say, “I was in Abu Dhabi for the hottest day on record.”

Given a choice, I’d pass.