Heat wave in Saudi Arabia and 6 other countries, 19 July to 6 August 2020
Heat wave in Saudi Arabia and 6 other countries, 19 July to 6 August 2020: 106 records at 24 stations, peak on 28 July 2020. Closed.
Data as of . Last revised (2026-10-17).
Key Facts
- Heat wave in Saudi Arabia and 6 other countries, 19 July to 6 August 2020 set or tied 106 station records at 24 stations.
- It ran from 19 July 2020 to 6 August 2020 (19 days) and its peak day was 28 July 2020.
- Status: closed.
- Guriat set an all-time record high minimum temperature of 30.0 C (86.0 F) on 28 July 2020.
- The busiest day was 28 July 2020 with 15 records.
- The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 65 years.
Footprint
19 July to 6 August 2020| Station | Type | Value | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafha | Record high maximum temperature | 50.0 C (122.0 F) | 2020-07-23 |
| Guriat | Record high minimum temperature | 30.0 C (86.0 F) | 2020-07-28 |
| Gassim | Record high minimum temperature | 34.8 C (94.6 F) | 2020-07-31 |
| Turaif | Record high minimum temperature | 31.0 C (87.8 F) | 2020-07-27 |
| Tabuk | Record high minimum temperature | 31.6 C (88.9 F) | 2020-07-30 |
| King Khaled Intl | Record high minimum temperature | 34.0 C (93.2 F) | 2020-08-02 |
| Kuwait Internationa | Record high maximum temperature | 52.1 C (125.8 F) | 2020-07-30 |
| Elat | Record high maximum temperature | 44.2 C (111.6 F) | 2020-07-30 |
| Ma'an | Record high maximum temperature | 39.2 C (102.6 F) | 2020-07-22 |
| Prince Hasan | Record high minimum temperature | 30.0 C (86.0 F) | 2020-07-27 |
Records per Day
Peak day 15| Date | Records |
|---|---|
| 2020-07-19 | 1 |
| 2020-07-20 | 7 |
| 2020-07-21 | 3 |
| 2020-07-22 | 2 |
| 2020-07-23 | 3 |
| 2020-07-24 | 5 |
| 2020-07-25 | 3 |
| 2020-07-26 | 8 |
| 2020-07-27 | 11 |
| 2020-07-28 | 15 |
| 2020-07-29 | 15 |
| 2020-07-30 | 9 |
| 2020-07-31 | 10 |
| 2020-08-01 | 3 |
| 2020-08-02 | 4 |
| 2020-08-03 | 2 |
| 2020-08-04 | 4 |
| 2020-08-06 | 1 |
Top Records by Margin
Margin over the record replaced| King Khaled Intl, 08-02 | |
|---|---|
| Tabuk, 07-30 | |
| Rafha, 07-26 | |
| Rafha, 07-28 | |
| Prince Hasan, 07-27 | |
| Ma'an, 07-22 | |
| Elat, 07-29 | |
| Elat, 07-28 | |
| Rafha, 07-25 | |
| Rafha, 07-23 | |
| Turaif, 07-27 | |
| Turaif, 07-29 | |
| Rafha, 07-20 | |
| Gassim, 07-31 | |
| Guriat, 07-28 |
Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.
Margin Against Age of the Broken Record
| Margin (C) | Years the old record stood |
|---|---|
| 0.6 | 21 |
| 1.0 | 42 |
| 0.8 | 15 |
| 1.0 | 8 |
| 1.2 | 2 |
| 3.4 | 33 |
| 1.0 | 0 |
| 3.5 | 33 |
| 0.4 | 3 |
| 0.2 | 65 |
| 0.2 | 9 |
| 1.5 | 39 |
| 2.2 | 43 |
| 0.4 | 0 |
| 2.2 | 22 |
| 0.2 | 0 |
| 3.2 | 20 |
| 2.8 | 22 |
| 2.6 | 24 |
| 1.0 | 42 |
| 0.4 | 47 |
| 1.9 | 24 |
| 1.3 | 20 |
| 2.2 | 20 |
| 2.2 | 20 |
| 0.8 | 39 |
| 1.8 | 24 |
| 1.8 | 24 |
| 0.4 | 40 |
| 2.0 | 20 |
| 2.0 | 24 |
| 2.5 | 9 |
| 3.5 | 3 |
| 0.6 | 0 |
| 2.2 | 13 |
| 1.4 | 22 |
| 0.9 | 33 |
| 0.8 | 34 |
| 2.0 | 20 |
| 3.1 | 8 |
| 1.5 | 19 |
| 2.4 | 9 |
| 3.6 | 3 |
| 0.5 | 3 |
| 1.8 | 13 |
| 2.0 | 13 |
| 1.6 | 22 |
| 2.4 | 13 |
| 1.0 | 24 |
| 2.0 | 9 |
| 1.6 | 4 |
| 0.6 | 33 |
| 0.5 | 33 |
| 2.2 | 13 |
| 1.4 | 15 |
| 1.0 | 20 |
| 1.0 | 20 |
| 1.6 | 13 |
| 0.6 | 33 |
| 1.0 | 2 |
| 0.8 | 20 |
| 0.6 | 20 |
| 2.0 | 8 |
| 0.8 | 20 |
| 0.5 | 24 |
| 1.9 | 8 |
| 0.6 | 8 |
| 0.2 | 20 |
| 0.5 | 20 |
| 0.4 | 20 |
| 1.6 | 3 |
| 1.4 | 13 |
| 0.8 | 15 |
| 0.8 | 20 |
| 0.5 | 22 |
| 0.6 | 6 |
| 0.8 | 15 |
| 1.1 | 8 |
| 1.5 | 3 |
| 0.3 | 20 |
| 0.8 | 8 |
| 0.3 | 9 |
| 0.8 | 13 |
| 1.0 | 13 |
| 0.2 | 19 |
| 1.2 | 5 |
| 1.0 | 13 |
| 0.3 | 5 |
| 0.1 | 8 |
| 0.8 | 8 |
| 0.3 | 13 |
| 0.5 | 8 |
| 0.6 | 8 |
| 0.6 | 9 |
| 0.3 | 19 |
| 0.6 | 13 |
| 0.6 | 5 |
| 0.8 | 1 |
| 1.0 | 3 |
| 0.1 | 2 |
| 0.2 | 4 |
| 0.4 | 9 |
| 0.2 | 8 |
| 0.2 | 13 |
| 0.3 | 13 |
| 0.4 | 3 |
Compared With Other Events
Station records per event| Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 16 January to 14 February 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Heat wave in United States, 28 January to 24 February 2026 | |
| Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 24 May to 19 June 2020 | |
| Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 26 March to 17 April 2021 | |
| Heat wave in Germany and 49 other countries, 18 December 2021 to 15 January 2022 | |
| Heat wave in Saudi Arabia and 6 other countries, 19 July to 6 August 2020 (this event) |
Every Record Set
20 of 106| Date | Station | Record | Value | Margin | Years stood | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-20 | Rafha | Record high maximum temperature | 48.0 C (118.4 F) | 1.0 C (1.8 F) | 42 | 21 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-22 | Ma'an | Record high maximum temperature | 39.2 C (102.6 F) | 2.2 C (4.0 F) | 43 | 25 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-23 | Rafha | Record high maximum temperature | 50.0 C (122.0 F) | 1.0 C (1.8 F) | 42 | 31 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-25 | Rafha | Record high minimum temperature | 35.9 C (96.6 F) | 1.2 C (2.2 F) | 2 | 29 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-26 | Rafha | Record high minimum temperature | 34.5 C (94.1 F) | 3.2 C (5.8 F) | 20 | 23 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-27 | Turaif | Record high minimum temperature | 31.0 C (87.8 F) | 1.0 C (1.8 F) | 8 | 30 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-27 | Tabuk | Record high minimum temperature | 31.8 C (89.2 F) | 0.2 C (0.4 F) | 9 | 26 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-27 | Prince Hasan | Record high minimum temperature | 30.0 C (86.0 F) | 2.6 C (4.7 F) | 24 | 21 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-28 | Guriat | Record high minimum temperature | 30.0 C (86.0 F) | 0.6 C (1.1 F) | 21 | 31 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-28 | Elat | Record high minimum temperature | 31.7 C (89.1 F) | 1.5 C (2.7 F) | 39 | 25 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-28 | Tabuk | Record high minimum temperature | 32.0 C (89.6 F) | 0.2 C (0.4 F) | 0 | 24 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-28 | Rafha | Record high maximum temperature | 50.3 C (122.5 F) | 2.8 C (5.0 F) | 22 | 23 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-29 | Turaif | Record high minimum temperature | 32.0 C (89.6 F) | 1.0 C (1.8 F) | 0 | 28 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-29 | Elat | Record high minimum temperature | 32.3 C (90.1 F) | 2.2 C (4.0 F) | 22 | 24 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-30 | Tabuk | Record high minimum temperature | 31.6 C (88.9 F) | 3.4 C (6.1 F) | 33 | 29 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-30 | Kuwait Internationa | Record high maximum temperature | 52.1 C (125.8 F) | 0.4 C (0.7 F) | 3 | 27 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-30 | Elat | Record high maximum temperature | 44.2 C (111.6 F) | 0.2 C (0.4 F) | 65 | 26 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-07-31 | Gassim | Record high minimum temperature | 34.8 C (94.6 F) | 0.8 C (1.4 F) | 15 | 31 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-08-02 | King Khaled Intl | Record high minimum temperature | 34.0 C (93.2 F) | 3.5 C (6.3 F) | 33 | 28 of 100 (Routine) |
| 2020-08-02 | King Khaled Intl | Record high maximum temperature | 48.8 C (119.8 F) | 0.4 C (0.7 F) | 0 | 25 of 100 (Routine) |
The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 106 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.
Download the Data
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.