Even for Middle East, it's a heat wave

CAIRO, Egypt -- Summertime is supposed to be hot in the Midle East. But there's hot, and then there's hot.

Power systems are straining under the burden of air conditioners running day and night. Among a population accustomed to torrid temperatures, people are getting sick from the heat, and some have died.

"May God make every day a winter day," said Ahmed Abdel Hamid as he stood under the blistering Cairo sun Tuesday filling bottles with water for his car.

In Saudi Arabia, three people, including a prince distantly related to the king, died during desert car journeys and police warned residents to postpone trips while the summer heat wave persists. Temperatures in the desert, which covers most of the kingdom, can easily reach 122.

The recent heatstroke deaths of five laborers in the United Arab Emirates prompted authorities to issue repeated warnings to limit time in the sun. Hospitals and clinics across the Emirates are reportedly receiving increasing numbers of patients suffering from heat stroke, dehydration, drowsiness and heat cramps.

The Emirates weather department said the average temperature during June and July has been above the normal average of 106. Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital, hit 115.

According to Bahrain's weather department, temperatures in June and July have been above the 99-degree average, at times climbing to 111.

Bahrain, which is spending millions to upgrade its electricity grid, has suffered a spate of power cuts.

In Oman, temperatures soared to above 129 for the first time in 12 years. Normal high temperature this time of the year is 113, according to the Omani weather department.

Water coolers -- not heaters -- are a bathroom fixture in Kuwait. Otherwise, because household water stored in rooftop tanks heats up under the sun, refreshing showers would be impossible. The high temperature was forecast at 116 Tuesday.

In Jordan, the meteorology department forecast 99 in the capital, Amman, and as high as 109 in desert regions and in the southern Red Sea port of Aqaba.

Children played in a fountain in their shorts or underwear in a downtown Amman square Tuesday. Juice shops were crammed. The ministries of agriculture and health urged farmers to shelter their animals. Citizens were warned to stay out of the sun and to drink plenty of water.

In neighboring Iraq, the temperature in Baghdad Tuesday was 118. The summer heat has been aggravated by almost daily electricity cuts all over country. Ice cream parlors were popular not just for their cooling treats, but because many have their own generators to keep the air conditioning on.

Officials say Egypt's electricity use has increased by as much as 40 percent since the beginning of July. Power in Damascus, the Syrian capital, was cut for several hours in many parts of the city on Tuesday.

Regardless of the heat, a ticket seller at the pyramids just outside Cairo said Tuesday visitors are still coming.

German tourist Yasmine Voidl, 18, wore a flowing white traditional Arab dress and covered her head in a colorful cloth, Bedouin style, for a visit to the pyramids, saying nothing would stop her from seeing the ancient sights.