What it’s like to go on holiday in Dubai during a pandemic

THE LIFEGUARDSC sweating in masks and latex gloves sometimes looked in need of rescue themselves. For much of the week it was 42° in the midday sun, with the palpable humidity making it seem hotter. One afternoon’s sunbathing was interrupted by a sandstorm that turned the sky grey. “It’s like a dream,” grins a Dutch woman sipping a cocktail by the pool, her ice long since melted.In normal times jetting off to Dubai in July is an act of masochism. Summer weather is hot enough to bake cookies on a parked car (as YouTube videos prove). Citizens and well-paid expats flee to cooler climes. Five-star hotel rooms that cost 1,000 dirhams ($272) a night in high season go for a third of that.