This city is the hottest in the world today

Doha is the hottest major city in the world as at the time of publishing, with temperatures soaring to 42 degrees Celsius under sunny skies.

The Qatari capital was recording “extremely hot” conditions at 11:00 local time, according to the latest global city weather figures supplied by Timeanddate.

The heat puts Doha ahead of several other notoriously hot cities.

Dubai was recording 40 degrees, while Riyadh was also at 40 degrees. Kuwait City followed at 39 degrees, while Phoenix in the United States was at 36 degrees.

Further down the list, Lahore was experiencing 35 degrees, with New Delhi and Dhaka both at 34 degrees.

Gulf region bearing the brunt of the heat

The Gulf dominated the top of the temperature rankings, with Doha, Dubai, Riyadh and Kuwait City all experiencing temperatures approaching or exceeding 40 degrees.

Doha’s heat is not unusual for the region. The city has a hot desert climate, with average high temperatures between May and September regularly exceeding 38 degrees.

Meanwhile, the latest global climate data provides a stark backdrop to the extreme temperatures being experienced in parts of the world.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that August 2026 was tied with July 2023 as the hottest month globally on record, with the global average surface air temperature 1.65 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.

How South Africa compares

The heat is a world away from conditions in South Africa’s major cities.

At the time of the figures, Cape Town was sitting at 15 degreeC, with more clouds than sunshine, while Johannesburg was at 13 degrees under sunny skies.

That means the temperature difference between Doha and Cape Town was a remarkable 27 degrees.

For anyone in Doha, temperatures of 40 degrees-plus mean staying hydrated, avoiding prolonged exposure to the midday sun and taking extra care with strenuous outdoor activities.