In a bakery in Riyadh, Aid Ahmed is sweating profusely and trying to avoid the scorching heat of the oven he works in front of for 13 hours a day. It's "hell," he says, with outside temperatures exceeding 45°C.
This 35-year-old Egyptian man wears a mask and a plastic hairnet, imposed by strict health regulations which increase his discomfort.
To cool off, he keeps a bottle of iced water and a damp towel handy, which he regularly applies to his face.
During the day, the streets empty, and many outdoor workers take a mandatory break between noon and 3 p.m. from mid-June to September, in a country that experiences stifling summers every year, where temperatures flirt with 50°C.
But Mr. Ahmed, who works from 11:00 a.m. to midnight, continues his work without respite, like other restaurant and bakery employees.
"It's hot outside, but inside it's a furnace," he says, shoving a wooden peel loaded with four pieces of dough into the oven, which he removes a few moments later, once they have turned into hot, steaming loaves.
Five years ago, this father of three found a job in Saudi Arabia with a monthly salary of 3,000 rials (around 750 euros), most of which he sends to his family back in Egypt.
The NGO Human Rights Watch has called on Gulf countries to better protect migrant workers from extreme heat.
Saudi authorities did not respond to AFP's questions on this matter.
– “Even with 10 air conditioners” –
"Being in front of the oven is like hell," he says, "and by midday I'm already exhausted," he says. He says he lies down at the end of the day for at least 30 minutes to recover.
Bakery customers prefer to wait outside in the shade, despite the heat.
Among them is Haitham Massad, a 40-year-old sales manager, who says staying even a few minutes inside the bakery, where "the heat probably exceeds 50°C," is "hard to bear."
"Being exposed to 40°C sun for an hour is equivalent to standing in front of a 200°C oven for the same amount of time; it can lead to severe dehydration and put vital organs at risk," Karim Elgendy, a climate specialist at the Carbon Institute in the Netherlands, told AFP.
He recommends moving away from ovens regularly or turning them off at times.
These are difficult tips to follow for Hani al-Daisi, a 26-year-old Yemeni who runs a restaurant in Riyadh. When his air-conditioned dining room fills up at peak times, the heat from the grills and pots in his cramped kitchen makes the air difficult to breathe.
"Even with ten air conditioners, the air in the kitchen wouldn't get cold," he says. "I feel like outside, people live in one world, and we live in another. Here, it's hell."
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