As some of you who read this might be dealing with Hurricane Isaac and others might be dealing with Typhoon Bolaven (did you know that hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all names for the same weather phenomenon? The name difference just indicates where the storm takes place!1), I figured I'd write a little post on the weather and climate here in Kuwait! Buckle your seatbelts or not--it might be too hot to grab the buckle if it's been sitting in the hot, Kuwaiti sun! ;)
You've probably gathered from either my facebook posts or from reading blog postings that right now, it's HOT in Kuwait. Here's the forecast for the rest of the week:
But it's a bit misleading looking at this graphic and seeing the 0% chance of rain because I can tell you as I sit here and watch my bottle sweat that it's also humid as hell today as well:
So what's up with that? Obviously Kuwait is in a very arid region of the world and much of it is desert. But its position on the Persian Gulf (apparently most people here refer to it as the Arabian Gulf so I'll do so as well from here on out!) can cause loads of humidity and a nice, soupy mixture of hot, hot heat.
In the week I've been here it's been incredibly dry for about half of the time and humid the other half with today being the most humid day we've had. You might be surprised to know that I really enjoy humidity. People never believe me when I say this. They say things like, "well, you probably haven't been anywhere very humid then," or "you haven't experienced DALLAS' humidity." Which is true. And of course, there's a big difference between 80% humidity and 47%. That said, to a point--a higher point than most people I've discovered--I truly enjoy humidity. It might come from growing up in such an arid climate on the Western Slope of Colorado where the heat is dry and radiating and unrelenting but I like to feel moisture in the air. I like my skin to feel a little moist, I like my hair to be a little frizzy--I like humidity. Call me crazy. ;)
Anyhoo, back to Kuwait. Like most deserts, Kuwait is a land of extremes. While it is quite hot in the summer, it significantly cools off in the winter months:
And, it DOES rain here, believe it or not, though mostly during the winter months:
So how does one keep cool in this climate one may ask? First of all, lots of air conditioning. Kuwait currently uses more energy than any other country in the world (per capita)3. I'm guessing a lot of this energy goes towards cooling buildings like my classroom where I was instructed to keep the AC on non-stop, even when I leave for the evening. But of course, people also dress for the climate. I incorrectly informed you in previous posts that the black robes and veils women wear here are called burqas. They are not! It's actually an outfit that consists of 2 different parts. The black robe and head covering is called an abaya:
The veil is separate and is not worn by everyone:
I'll have to do more research to see the philosophy on why certain women wear one or the other or both. Here, though, is the general reasoning from the Quran that is used as reasoning behind being cloaked or veiled in Islamic culture 4:
"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters, and
the believing women, to cover themselves with a loose garment. They will
thus be recognised and no harm will come to them"
One might wonder if this outfit is hot given that it's black. According to another blog I found, the garment is actually quite cool as it allows air to move about one's body! (Blog found here!) It makes sense, then, why this garment has played such an important cultural and religious role in the Middle East for thousands of years!
The garment worn by men is called a dishdasha 5. As far as I can tell, it does not have religious significance and is simply a traditional garment worn by men in the Middle East. Many men also wear a head covering called a Keffiyeh 6. Its purpose is to keep the sun off of one's head and shoulders, thus keeping one cool. The whole outfit looks like this:
Again, not everyone in Kuwait wears traditional dress and because there are so many different cultures and peoples represented in Kuwait, there is no uniform dress amongst its citizens. It does seem, however, that traditional and religious garments are designed with coolness (both temperature and style!) in mind! And, if all else fails, you can always hop in the gulf:
Hope everyone is keeping cool and dry wherever you may be! Miss you all!
-Emily
ADDENDUM:
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook I have, the head scarf worn by men is more commonly called a gutra (or ghutra). It also explains that "All Arab women cover their hair but they don't all wear the burka (veil) - in Oman and the UAE, they mostly do not cover the face." It goes on to say that "Many Western people assume that men force women to cover up. In fact, this is generally not the case. Women often opt for such coverings in order to pass more comfortably through male company. Nor is it a stated part of Islam. Indeed, Bedu women maintain that the custom, which protects the skin and hair from the harsh penalties of the sun and sand, predates Islam." So there you go!
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