NOVEMBER has made its way into the record books as the warmest ever in Bahrain since 1902 – shattering the figures of 26°C in 1954 and 2017.
The month had 14 days with a maximum temperature that exceeded 30°C.
Maximum
According to a report from the Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry’s Meteorological Directorate, the highest temperatures recorded were 33.5°C at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on November 2 and 33.3°C at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) on November 6.
The mean temperature of the month was 26.2°C which is 1.9°C above the long-term normal for November.
“The mean maximum temperature of the month was 29.3°C which is 1.6°C above the long-term normal and this goes on record as the fifth-highest mean maximum temperature for November since 1946,” the report said.
The highest mean monthly maximum temperature for November was 29.9°C recorded in 2004.
November takes on yet another record this year as it witnessed the second highest mean minimum temperature since 1946.
The month recorded the mean minimum temperature of 23.3°C, which is 2.1°C above the long-term normal.
However, the month had gentle drizzles and gusty winds to cool it down as Bahrain is slowly embracing the winter.
The lowest temperature recorded was 16.4°C at Durrat Al Bahrain on November 25, the report said, while it was 19.8°C the same day at BIA.
The mean relative humidity for the month was 60 per cent whereas the mean maximum relative humidity was 73pc and mean minimum relative humidity was 40pc.
A maximum relative humidity of 83pc was recorded on November 9 and the minimum relative humidity was 15pc on November 2.
“Only 0.5mm of precipitation was reported during the month at BIA, with traces reported on November 13 and 29,” the report said.
It also noted that the long-term mean total precipitation for November is 3.8mm. The highest monthly rainfall ever recorded during November at BIA was 146.8mm in 1940.
Precipitation
Light rain was reported in some areas on November 8 and the total monthly precipitation was 1.8mm at Sitra Island. The total precipitation at BIC was 1.4 mm, while it was 1.2mm at Durrat Al Bahrain and 0.4mm at King Fahad Causeway.
According to European researchers last month was the hottest November on record.
Scientists with the Copernicus Climate Change Service said that global temperatures in November were 0.1 degree Celsius above the previous record-holders, in 2016 and 2019. November 2020 was 0.8 degree Celsius higher than the average from 1981 to 2010.
Margin
Warm conditions persisted over large swaths of the planet, with temperatures the highest above average across Northern Europe and Siberia, as well as the Arctic Ocean. Much of the US was warmer than average as well.
The Copernicus service said that so far this year, temperatures were on par with 2016, which is the hottest year on record. Barring a significant drop in global temperatures in December, 2020 was likely to remain tied with 2016 or even become the warmest on record by a small margin, the service said.
raji@gdn.com.bh