Nobody needs to be told what season we are now in. All you need to know can be gleaned from the spluttering, coughing and sneezing of those who have succumbed to the many strains of the common cold that are currently doing the rounds. Even clear blue skies – normally a feature of Arabia as reliable as the summer heat – have been notably absent.
This is not just anecdotal. As The National reports today, doctors have attributed to the plummeting temperatures a 30 per cent surge in the number of seasonal flu cases being reported compared to a month ago, exacerbating the effect of travellers over the new year break bringing bugs back with them.
The heaters on our cars, a feature which hitherto been had been of purely theoretical benefit, are now being called into use. At home, it means scrambling to find the instructions that came with the air conditioning units because of a vague recollection that it also offered a heating option. Warm clothes that have been buried in the back of the wardrobe since the last visit to Ski Dubai are disinterred for any trip outside.
While winter in Arabia is clearly better than anything northern Europe and North America is currently experiencing, part of the reason why the chilly temperatures are upsetting for us is that we swelter through the summer months, surviving by endlessly repeating the mantra that winter in this part of the world is sublime, with weeks of pleasant temperatures and cloudless skies. Is it any wonder we then feel cheated when there is rain and a few days of cloudy skies?
Reality is a helpful foil to this. Those who grumble ought to put their attention on the plight of Syrian refugees living in desperate conditions.
