It was 117.5 °F in Qatar May 20, 2012, 5 degrees shy of Qatar’s record of 122.7 °F set in 2010. Check out this list of world record temperatures, here.

Doha residents who were brave enough to go out yesterday experienced the hottest day of the year so far, with the temperature hitting 47C (117F) by noon, the Qatar Meteorology Department has said.

Saturday was also apparently one of the hottest days in May in over a quarter-century, just shy of the record in 1986, when the mercury reached 47.7C, the MET said.

The Peninsula reports:

However, the temperature is expected to drop by two to three degrees today, hovering between 30 to 45 degrees Celsius, thanks to a change in the wind direction. A similar pattern would follow in the next three days, a forecaster at the Department said last evening.