Soaring temperatures, hot winds, pouring rain: Nothing unusual, according to experts

BEIRUT — Lebanon's latest heatwave, which began Saturday, has seen record temperatures, hot winds, high humidity, rain and fog.

The intensity of this heatwave and unusually strong gusts of wind and rain on Sunday led residents to wonder whether these weather conditions are normal in Lebanon. With the European Union's climate observatory confirming last month as the hottest July ever recorded on Earth, could the strange weather be linked to climate change?  

On July 27, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that "the era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived."

Rain, wind and sand whirls were also observed in the Baalbeck area on Monday, according to our Bekaa correspondent. This led to a relative decrease in the temperature after it exceeded 40 degrees in the morning.

According to Abderrahman Zawawi, head of the Météo-Liban service, such sand whirlwinds are normal in the current weather conditions.

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The head of the surface forecasting division at the Meteorological Department at Beirut airport, Mohammad Kanj, also told L'Orient Today that "the current heatwave is usual, but the fact that it is affecting the whole Lebanese territory is exceptional."

According to Kanj, "The temperature reached 43 degrees Celsius in some areas, and the hot wind reached the mountains."

Despite the strong winds, no damage was reported in the last few hours.

Kanj noted that the rain observed on Sunday is usual in conditions of high humidity and hot wind, though Lebanese people are used to dry summers.

Regarding a potential link between the high temperatures recorded lately in Lebanon and climate change, Céline Chemali, a PhD student in climatology at Université Saint-Joseph said that "the weather we are experiencing now is not caused by climate change, as it is normal for each year to experience some days of heatwaves."

Still, "climate change worsens" this phenomenon, with higher maximum temperatures, she said.

Zawawi shared her view. 

"Heatwaves are not unprecedented," he said, though added that the temperatures reached this year are higher than the average. He also noted that the duration of the heatwave Lebanon is witnessing is "long."

The heatwave could soon ease slightly, though.

According to Kanj, the high temperatures will "slightly reduce on the coast starting Wednesday but will not end before Sunday."