As temperatures in several parts of the Emirates threaten to tip over 50°C, the annual challenge of keeping homes cool during the height of summer is relentless for many.
Ageing air conditioning units not only struggle to maintain recommended indoor temperatures of around 24°C at this time of year but some are failing altogether.
Demand for AC maintenance services in recent years has soared as residents make sure their units are in proper working order.
Eileen Lee-Connor has lived in Dubai for 17 years and in the same 30th-floor apartment in Downtown for four years but struggles to maintain a cool temperature during summer.
The number of people booking our AC maintenance services has doubled over the last year as people try to make sure their units are prepared for the heat
Hisham Jaber,
co-founder of The Healthy Home
“I have been losing my mind with the heat inside my apartment,” said Ms Lee-Connor.
“I have to leave my freezer door open and stand in front of it just to cool down. It is the same every summer.
“It is a luxury apartment in Downtown Dubai, so even though I‘m on the top floor I would not expect it to be this hot.
“I have pets and a child, so it is not that easy to move around, especially as rents have gone through the roof.”
While living on the top floor offers spectacular views, Ms Lee-Connor has been told by building engineers the elevated position leaves the upper floors vulnerable to rising heat from below.
For four months of the year, she is unable to cool her apartment below 24.5°C, she said.
How to stay cool
The answer to maintaining cooler temperatures may not just be in regular servicing of cooling ducts and indoor units.
Designers in the UAE have shared several clever tips on how to keep rooms cool and save on utility bills.
Tima Jaber, an interior designer and chief executive at 360 degree Technical Services in Dubai Design District, said simple design considerations can help keep a building cool during the summer.
“I deal with this issue of how to cool homes and office spaces almost every day,” she said.
“A lot of people try to keep their air conditioning at 19°C or 20°C, but that is not in line with an ideal body temperature.
“A more realistic temperature to keep a home consistently cool is somewhere between 20°C and 24°C.
“Closing all bathroom doors can help maintain that, as it limits the amount of cool air escaping through air vents.
“Open doors also allow heat back into a room, so the AC has to work harder to maintain a cool temperature.”
Strategically-placed sunshades, outdoor curtains or tall plants near windows and entrances can all help cool an apartment, experts said.
Investing in heat-reflective window film and thermal-lined curtains or blinds can also reduce the temperature inside and save money on AC bills long-term, while lighter curtain shades can be effective in bouncing sunlight away from the interior.
“A lot of modern buildings focus on cost rather than how to cool a building by using the right materials,” said Ms Jaber.
“The design of a building’s walls can help keep it cool with correct cavity insulation or solar reflective coating on the exterior.
“Many new buildings have big windows, which is great for natural light but they can create a much warmer room that is harder to cool.”
Soaring demand
Taking control of internal air conditioning units can be a sure-fire way to increase efficiency at the hottest time of year.
Maintenance companies said the demand for services soared in recent years, as older buildings struggle to maintain cooler temperatures during summer.
“The number of people booking our AC maintenance services have doubled over the last year as people try to make sure their units are prepared for the heat,” said Hisham Jaber, co-founder of The Healthy Home, which has more than 50,000 clients in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Regular AC maintenance and duct cleaning can help maintain optimal airflow and eliminate dust build-up, improving cooling performance.
July was the hottest year since record keeping began for worldwide temperatures.
And on Thursday temperatures hit 50.2°C in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, the National Centre of Meteorology reported.
Mr Jaber said as that trend continues, demand for regular maintenance and new cooling solutions will also increase.
“As per our client feedback, the AC cleaning and maintenance services provided by the building and community maintenance companies are usually not enough,” he said.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Lexus LX700h specs
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Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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if you go
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat
UAE FIXTURES
Friday February 18: v Ireland
Saturday February 19: v Germany
Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
