It may be 50C in your car, but is it correct?

Dubai: When your parked car’s temperature reading says it’s 50 degrees Celsius, don’t take that as the absolute truth. It may be hot, but not that hot, a forecaster said.

Dubai motorists complained of the blistering heat on Tuesday, which they said reached 50C between 10am and noon according to their car thermometers.

Although the highest recorded temperature in the UAE reached close to 50C on Tuesday, it was nowhere near 50C in Dubai but only between 42C and 47C between 9am and noon, a forecaster at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said.

Sweihan, a town in Al Ain, was the hottest place in the UAE on Tuesday at 49.8C at 2pm. Saih Al Salem recorded 49.5C at 2.45pm and the mercury reached 49.2C in Madinat Zayed at 2.30pm.

In the daytime, a car’s temperature reading may show an increase of about one to two degrees Celsius due to different factors, the forecaster said. The thermometer will read accurately, but the reading will be influenced by ambient temperature.

“The most accurate temperature reading is in airports because there are [certain parameters] needed in measuring temperature. First, the thermometer has to be completely isolated from structures, crowded streets, and any additional sources of heat coming from solar radiation. It should also be placed somewhere without insulation,” the forecaster told Gulf News.

“The thermal sensors should be placed between 175cm and 225cm above the ground. In most cars, the sensors are close to the ground so the asphalt acts as an additional source of heat.” This means surrounding structures can magnify the heat because of re-radiation.

Motorists can trust the accuracy of their car’s temperature reading if it is moving or if it is night time.

Nonetheless, Wednesday’s weather will remain hot in coastal areas with temperatures ranging between 42C and 46C while it will be very hot inland where the mercury could shoot up to 44C to 49C. The coastal areas in the eastern part of the country will be more favourable as temperatures will not exceed 38C.

Unlike the previous weeks’ wet weather in the east, there are no indicators of rain over the next three days, the forecaster said, although the amount of cloud will increase.