Israel and Jordan endure 'hellish' record-breaking heat at night

Jordan and Israel have suffered through their hottest nights on record, with nocturnal temperatures in the Levant well above levels that scientists informally label "hellish".

- Ajit Niranjan

Temperatures on Monday night were never lower than 35C (95F) in Ghor es-Safi and Aqaba in Jordan, while in the capital, Amman, they did not drop below 31.8C.

In Israel, a record-breaking nighttime minimum was reported on Tuesday night of 36C in Sedom.

"It's like you're walking in a sauna," said Fayha Al-Shibli, a climate scientist at the University of Jordan, who lives in Amman.

Doctors are concerned about hot nights because they compound the damage done by heatwaves, preventing worn-out bodies from resting after the stress of a scorching day and contributing to a vast but overlooked death toll.

In many European countries, tropical nights refer to temperature minimums above 20C, while in Spain, which is more familiar with extreme heat, meteorologists also describe nights above 25C as equatorial or torrid.