Does it rain in Qatar?

Some people believe that it never rain in the Qatar or for the matter, in the Middle East. That's an incorrect assumption.

It does rain. Especially between December to February of the winter months. The rain tend to be short and intense - 10 to 30 minutes at best.

Most people living here are happy for rain. Rain brings joy to everyone's face, washes away the dirt and sand, let flowers bloom for a while and add a snappy smell to the air.

Drivers though, do not really like rain. Qatari roads are not designed with proper drainage system for rain, even light rain, and they tend to flood quickly. Random potholes in the road add to the flooding problem.

In heavy rain, sand on the sidewalks and clogged drainage system draining onto the road quickly result in a quagmire of slush and mud and the roads become extremely slippery. The fast driving speed and unfamiliarity with wet roads of the local drivers often result in accident rates shooting up during raining days.

It does rain in Qatar

Roads flood quickly.
This is a typical road after 15 minutes of light rain.

To work or not to work?

According to the Koran, the holy day of the week is Friday; not Sunday.

Hence, the work week in Qatar is Sunday to Thursday. Most companies will rest on Friday and Saturday. Some, only Friday.

Work hours for government service is 7am-1pm. Banks too.

It helps that these guys start work so early. These are the guys with hugh SUVs and MPVs and you wouldn't want to meet them during rush hours. Being horned or flashed at all the time is no fun.

Shops normally open from 8am to 12pm. Then close and re-open at 4pm to 7pm. Nobody goes shopping in the Middle-East during the hottest hours of 12-4pm where temperature can go as high as 45C. Unless it is in a sleek shopping mall with powerful air-conditioners.

The rest of us thankfully work normal 8am-4pm or 9am-5pm hours.

You'll get use to it after a while that sneaking out during lunch hours to run errands at the bank or Post office does not work because they would have closed by the time we reach lunch hour.

Thankfully, ATM machines does not close after 2pm.

First impressions - 3

If your impressions of Middle-East come from movies and popular literature, you will come gamely prepared in canopy-hats, sun-shades, T-shirts and sun-blocks.

Ha ... you will freeze your toes off. There can be winter in the deserts too and the temperature now in Doha, Qatar for January is about 16C in the day and 10C at night. The most popular item in supermarket cashier lines is an electric heater to make sleeping at night bearable.

Offices in Qatar also tend to keep their air-conditioner low because of the all-year heat. However, most offices forget to adjust the air-conditioner during the winter months and so, you have the winter cold plus cold air-conditioner breeze. Brrrrr.....

The Qataris and other Arabians are in their traditional headgear and clothes; which can be quite thick and make the winter cold acceptable. The rest of the foreign population are in a mixture of scarfs, hats, sweaters and jackets.

Welcome to the land of sun and sand! Except winter...

From Jan 10, 2009_3

Note that the Arabian ladies and gentlemen in traditional clothes are able to keep warm