Since the start of summer, Aicha and her sisters have visited malls and gaming areas in Qatar to keep their children entertained and, more importantly, find some respite from the intense heat.
The Qatari government employee says they have longed to spend time outside for several days.
“Today, we have come to Umm Al Seneem park,” says Aicha, 27. “The outdoor air-conditioning here is excellent.”
With temperatures between 45°C and 47°C and humidity levels soaring every day, Qatar is sweltering under intense heat this summer.
However, air-conditioned parks with running tracks are becoming popular with citizens and residents, complementing the high-end malls to which many sought refuge from the heat in the past.
There are three such venues in the country and Umm Al Seneem Park is the newest, having been opened in November, a few weeks before the start of the 2022 Fifa World Cup, when the country’s air-conditioned football arenas were making headlines.
With a 1.14km track circling the park, Umm Al Seneem holds the Guinness World Record for the “longest air-conditioned outdoor path”.
The technology is the same as the one used in Qatar's football stadiums, and solar panels generate at least 60 per cent of the electricity used by the air conditioners.
Additionally, to maintain the 26°C temperature, climber plants cover the tracks from all directions and help to keep the heat out.
It is a Wednesday evening, and families and fitness enthusiasts begin to stream into the park shortly after 4pm.
Aicha places the stroller carrying her nine-month-old baby over a cooling vent while her toddler runs the length of the track. She and her two sisters sit close by, hoping to catch some of the crisp air gushing out of the vents.
“See how happy my baby is in the stroller! We have driven 20 minutes to get here, but it is worth it,” she says. “We hope, in the future, that more places such as this come up. While we enjoy the malls, this is better for the children.”
A little distance away, Abdullah Amir, a defence sector employee from Pakistan, has finished walking around the track and is going to fetch his children from the play area.
“I have been in Qatar for a year and I really enjoy walking outdoors. But the weather now is not suitable for it,” he says.
“I had heard about this park during the World Cup but this is my first time here and I really like it. The children can play while I finish my steps.”
Mr Amir, a father of three, believe there should be one day a week when the air-conditioned track should only be open to serious joggers and walkers.
“Right now, there are a lot of children and others strolling or cycling in the area,” he says.
Having visited another air-conditioned park in Qatar, he says the cooling at Umm Al Seneem is “very good”.
Nearby, standing on a small green hill, Moin Khan, 39, is on a video call, pointing his phone towards the cooled outdoor path to show it to his family in Pakistan.
A driver with a private company, he says he has been visiting the park at least two to three times a week.
“After a long day at work, I come here and do a few rounds of the track. It is very relaxing. When I told my family about it, they couldn’t believe it,” says Mr Khan, who has been living in Qatar for more than a year.
The park can hold up to 6,000 visitors at a time. About 68 per cent of the park is covered by vegetation, with its 912 trees and 820 square metres of long green walls also helping to maintain optimum temperatures.
“I usually don’t take my phone to the park but today I got it just to show the outdoor air-conditioning to my parents and children,” Mr Khan says.
Today, he has also called some of his friends to the park, and the group plans to catch up over some food until closing time, at midnight.
The park's security supervisor, Peter, says the air conditioning is switched on at 3pm and switched off at 11pm.
“After that, the people start to leave. We also see higher footfall over the weekend,” he says, as he completes his evening rounds.
“Apart from the joggers and walkers, a lot of people come to use the open gym, which is close to the air-conditioned track.”
After nightfall, the crowd starts growing. Ali Fouani and his wife Sara find a seat in the play area and hope to “smell some fresh air”.
“We live 10 minutes away. We walk and our child plays, all outdoors! We have travelled to Dubai and Europe but I haven’t seen anything like this before. We have been recommending the place to all our friends,” says Ali, a Qatar Airways employee.
His wife says they will spend two to three hours at the park and leave when their three-year-old child gets tired.
“It's very hard to keep children indoors. This works for us,” she says.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Sour%20Grapes
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Shafaf, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Noof KB, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Mekhbat, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5
Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
