You know it is summer in the Emirates when…

When hot water comes out of the cold tap you know it is that time of the year, says Alex McNabb.

July 10, 2012 4:40 by Alex McNabb

Hot water comes out of the cold tap.
Gulf News runs pictures of pigeons drinking from a standpipe in a public park. Alternatively, people shading themselves from the harsh summer sun or labourers sleeping in the shade.
You can’t seem to get dry when you get out of the shower.
Everybody you’ve ever done business with needs to meet face to face for no particularly good reason.
Your shirt’s stuck to you by the time you’ve made the walk to the car. The car’s baking hot when you get to it.
The back of your shirt in contact with the car seat never quite dries out.
By the time the car has finally cooled down you’ve arrived at the next meeting.
The walk from the car to meeting sticks your shirt to you.
By the end of the meeting you’ve cooled down just in time to walk to the baking hot car with your shirt stuck to you. The first blast of air from the AC through the hot dashboard makes it worse. You’re better off opening the windows initially to bring the car down to ambient temperature.
When you forget to put up the sunshade you have to hold tissues in your hands to protect from the super-heated steering wheel.
Your electricity meter starts to defy the rules of physics and proves the theory E=M$2.
You see strange, yellow sprung maggots with evil, leering grins start to appear. You know this is not a hallucination, but a strange annual manifestation of that cargo cult known as Dubai Summer Surprises.
Somehow, you’re not surprised.