Het weer in Abu Dhabi in mei

Abu Dhabi forum regulars are direct that May is genuinely hot rather than a mild shoulder month: shade temperatures “in the mid 30s...probably more likely towards the upper 30s,” low-40s in direct sun, and nights that “probably won't dip below 25.” The framing that repeats is comparative — “warm to hot but a lot more tolerable than the weather in July/August” — with November through March named as the actually pleasant stretch. One specific warning for anyone planning a desert excursion: daytime heat out there is called brutal, a different proposition from the city itself. Our record: 35.9°C days, 25.1°C nights, an AQI of 114 and essentially no rain — hot and hazy, matching the “hot but not yet peak” read the forum gives May relative to summer.

Regulars call this genuinely one of the better months, sunny and warm in the mid-30s Celsius, with the oppressive summer humidity not yet in the picture - a meaningfully more tolerable heat than the July-August stretch even at a similar temperature. Our row backs the dry-leaning heat, 31.8C reading as a hot 33C, over 23.4C nights, with rain almost entirely absent, 11.1mm across under a day, and humidity down to 56 percent. Regulars are honest an occasional day can still push into the 40s, but most fall comfortably in the mid-to-high 30s, with sunscreen and sun protection the standard practical advice regardless of the exact number. The sea offers relief at a warm 25.5C. The record: 11.2 hours of sun, a 24.2 kph wind and AQI 116.

November to March is the window regulars here recommend and March is the last of it: sunny, warm, almost no rain, and - the part that matters - not yet humid, which is what makes the summer here unbearable rather than the temperature. Our row gives 28C reading as 29C at 62 percent humidity with 12.7mm of rain across 1.2 days. On the beach question they are moderate and so is our column: the sea at 24.1C is neither too warm nor too cold, and people swim. The breeze is constant at 24.5 kph. April onwards the humidity climbs and the window closes. The record: 20.3C nights, 10.5 hours of sun and AQI 88.

December here is what regulars call barbecue and sunbathing weather, with the odd short shower in recent years and nothing more. They give the month's span as 14 to 25C; our averages sit at the top of it, 25.9C by day and 19.4C at night, because the Gulf holds the nights up in a way the desert behind the city does not. Rain is 3.8mm on less than a day. Their one caveat is the water: pools are fine and several hotels heat theirs, while the sea at 24.9C strikes some visitors as chilly and others as ideal - it depends entirely on where you have come from. A 19.6 kph wind makes the corniche pleasant rather than still. The record: humidity 66 percent, 9.5 hours of sun and AQI 91.

February in Abu Dhabi is the comfortable end of the year: high 20s by day dropping to around 16C at night, low humidity and a breeze much of the time, with all-day sun and effectively no rain - our row gives 0.9 precipitation days. November to March is the stretch regulars name as the pleasant season, and late February into early March is the part they single out, when it settles into the high 20s and early 30s. Sunscreen is the only real warning attached. The record: 24.6C days, 17.8C nights, 10.1 hours of sun, a 21.2C sea and a 23 kph breeze.