Kuwait’s 54°C may be a record

GENEVA // The UN weather agency said it suspected that a 54°C temperature reading in Kuwait had set a record for the eastern hemisphere.

The World Meteorological Organisation said yesterday that it would set up a group to look into whether the temperature last Thursday in Mitrabah, Kuwait, was a new high. The WMO’s Omar Baddour said it was likely to be an eastern hemisphere record.

Last week, large parts of the Middle East and North Africa were hit by heatwaves.