On the same weekend in which it threatened to "annihilate" Israel following the nuclear deal it struck with global powers, Iran experienced a mind-boggling 164 degrees (73 Celsius) heat index reading last Friday, in what some might see as a warning by the Almighty Himself that all options are on the table.
The heat index, also know as the "feels-like" temperature, combines air temperature and humidity to give an accurate reading as to how the human body perceives the relative temperature.
As Iran entered the current heat wave breaking on the Middle East last Thursday, temperatures at the Manshahr Airport in southwest Iran's Bandar Mahshahr, home to over 100,000 people, hit 109 degrees (43 Celsius) with a dewpoint of 90 degrees (32 Celsius). Those figures compute out to an incredible 159 degrees (70 Celsius).
But it got even hotter on Friday, with the Weather Channel reporting that the same site reached 114.8 degrees (46 Celsius) and a dew point of 89.6 degrees (32 Celsius), yielding an inhuman 164 degrees (73 Celsius).
Meteorological experts said Iran is experiencing some of the hottest temperatures "ever endured by humankind."
"That was one of the most incredible temperature observations I have ever seen, and it is one of the most extreme readings ever in the world," AccuWeather meteorologist Anthony Saglia told The Telegraph.
Iran's heat index last Friday nearly broke a world record, coming within a few degrees of the 2003 heat index record in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which was a suffocating 178 degrees (81 Celsius).
Putting aside the heat index, the highest recorded temperature in all of Asia was actually experienced in Israel's Tirat Tzvi back on June 21, 1942, during the days of the Holocaust, when the temperature hit 129 degrees (54 Celsius). However, the Weather Channel casts doubt on the accuracy of that record, and lists Kuwait's scorching 128.5 degrees (53.6 Celsius) in 2012 as the record.
Kuwait nearly matched that record again last Thursday, when it hit 127 degrees (52.8 Celsius) in Mitribah.
The rising temperatures are part of a regional "heat dome," a type of high pressure ridge that is causing soaring temperatures and is expected to last several days.
Iraq has also been coming in for a pounding, and on Sunday it was expected to hit over 120 degrees (49 Celsius) for the eight day in a row.
Iraq's government last Thursday took the desperate measure of instituting a four-day holiday so that citizens can take shelter at home and stay out of the sizzling sun.
Baghdad on Saturday hit its four consecutive day over 120 degrees, and has been over 100 degrees (37.8 Celsius) every day since all the way back to May 30.
Temperatures in Israel are ranging between 90 degrees (32 Celsius) in the country's center, to 114 (46C) in Eilat and 113 (45C) near the Sea of Galilee.
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