The city is, by some counts, the hottest in the world. However, in January, the coldest time of the year, the thermometer rarely rises much higher than 20 °C, while staying in the balmy mid-teens
It’s possible to get to the hottest city in the world for £78 this month.
Kuwait City is, by all measures, ferociously hot. On July 21, the mercury reached 53.9C in Mitribah, which is near to the Capital. That temperature was verified by the World Meteorological Organization as the highest ever recorded in Asia.
Given how dangerous such high temperatures can be, it’s advisable to visit Kuwait in the winter or spring months, rather than the summer. In January, the coldest time of the year, the thermometer rarely rises much higher than 20 °C, while staying in the balmy mid-teens.
If escaping the UK’s frosty shores for a spot of Kuwaiti sunshine appeals, then you’re in luck. Flight prices are relatively low at this time of the year. Skyscanner lists flights from London for £78 return this January, with services from Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester coming in at under £100.
Waleed Alkhamees has lived his whole life in Kuwait City – a destination the tour guide describes as one that “no one ever moves away from”. Yet this Middle Eastern metropolis holds the dubious distinction of being the planet’s most scorching urban centre. During 2021, the mercury climbed above 50C (122F) for 19 consecutive days.
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When we caught up with Waleed, he told us how locals deal with the weather. “Everybody is trying to keep indoors, as everywhere in Kuwait is air-conditioned. Most of the locals escape from the heat and go outside Kuwait during the summer. Businesses close down. By law you can’t work outdoors from 10am to 5pm, so the workers work from midnight until the morning.”
Waleed has observed the average temperatures inching up year on year. Each summer, he notes, it seems to get a tad hotter. While it’s always been a place where the mercury soars, residents of the largely concrete city are finding themselves making more and more adaptations just to manage.
The state heavily subsidises electricity – funded alongside healthcare and education from vast oil reserves that keep the tax rate at zero – enabling most of the 3.3 million city dwellers to run their air conditioning units non-stop.
Nearly all enclosed public spaces are filled with artificial cold air throughout the day and night, while streets are enveloped in clouds of cooling water. A government prohibition on outdoor work from 10am to 5pm during the summer months aims to prevent people from collapsing and dying in weather conditions that pose a constant threat to human health.
However, if you visit Kuwait City in the summer, you might notice that this rule isn’t strictly enforced. Workers, often recent immigrants, defy the heat and the ban to labour on the streets, their bodies fully covered from head to toe for some respite from the relentless sun.
Waleed guides tourists around the city, showcasing landmarks such as the spaceship-like Kuwait Towers, which tower over the city as a clear symbol of its wealth in a style reminiscent of the 1970s. The Grand Mosque and the old Souk are the other major attractions.
His tour groups typically comprise around 80% Americans, with the remainder being European visitors – a demographic that mirrors the significant US military presence at Camp Arifjan in the country’s south-east. Even during the scorching months of June and July, tours operate year-round, with visitors seldom stepping out of air-conditioned vehicles whilst discovering the city.
Western travellers seeking a refreshing beer in the evening will be disappointed in Kuwait, which maintains a rigorous and strictly enforced alcohol ban, even within hotels frequented by tourists. For those brave enough to trust their sun cream, the city’s coastline proves particularly attractive.
The expansive sandy shoreline ranks among the longest in the Middle East and boasts excellent diving locations.
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Despite the unrelenting heat – so extreme it forces pigeons to stay grounded during parts of the day and has even killed off marine wildlife in the bays – Waleed insists his fellow citizens have no intention of leaving.
“Kuwait City has gotten hotter. For years now. It is hotter and hotter every year. I am worried about global warming. It’s half a degree every couple of years. But we won’t move away. Kuwaitis never move away. There are lots of benefits in Kuwait,” he explained.
“The currency is the highest currency in the world, we pay zero tax, everything is subsidised by the government, fuel cost is half that of Saudi Arabia. Medication and education is free. People, they don’t move away.”