Since the beginning of summer, Aicha and her sisters have visited malls and gaming areas in Qatar to maintain their kids entertained and, extra importantly, discover some respite from the extreme warmth.

The Qatari authorities worker says they’ve longed to spend time exterior for a number of days.

“Today, we have come to Umm Al Seneem park,” says Aicha, 27. “The outdoor air-conditioning here is excellent.”

With temperatures between 45°C and 47°C and humidity ranges hovering every single day, Qatar is sweltering below intense heat this summer.

However, air-conditioned parks with working tracks have gotten widespread with residents and residents, complementing the high-end malls to which many sought refuge from the warmth previously.

There are three such venues within the nation and Umm Al Seneem Park is the most recent, having been opened in November, just a few weeks earlier than the beginning of the 2022 Fifa World Cup, when the nation’s air-conditioned soccer arenas have been making headlines.

With a 1.14km observe circling the park, Umm Al Seneem holds the Guinness World Record for the “longest air-conditioned outdoor path”.

The expertise is identical because the one utilized in Qatar’s soccer stadiums, and photo voltaic panels generate at the least 60 per cent of the electrical energy utilized by the air conditioners.

Additionally, to keep up the 26°C temperature, climber crops cowl the tracks from all instructions and assist to maintain the warmth out.

It is a Wednesday night, and households and health lovers start to stream into the park shortly after 4pm.

Aicha locations the stroller carrying her nine-month-old child over a cooling vent whereas her toddler runs the size of the observe. She and her two sisters sit shut by, hoping to catch among the crisp air gushing out of the vents.

“See how happy my baby is in the stroller! We have driven 20 minutes to get here, but it is worth it,” she says. “We hope, in the future, that more places such as this come up. While we enjoy the malls, this is better for the children.”

A bit distance away, Abdullah Amir, a defence sector worker from Pakistan, has completed strolling across the observe and goes to fetch his kids from the play space.

“I have been in Qatar for a year and I really enjoy walking outdoors. But the weather now is not suitable for it,” he says.

“I had heard about this park during the World Cup but this is my first time here and I really like it. The children can play while I finish my steps.”

Mr Amir, a father of three, imagine there needs to be someday per week when the air-conditioned observe ought to solely be open to critical joggers and walkers.

“Right now, there are a lot of children and others strolling or cycling in the area,” he says.

Having visited one other air-conditioned park in Qatar, he says the cooling at Umm Al Seneem is “very good”.

Nearby, standing on a small inexperienced hill, Moin Khan, 39, is on a video name, pointing his telephone in direction of the cooled outside path to point out it to his household in Pakistan.

A driver with a non-public firm, he says he has been visiting the park at the least two to a few instances per week.

“After a long day at work, I come here and do a few rounds of the track. It is very relaxing. When I told my family about it, they couldn’t believe it,” says Mr Khan, who has been residing in Qatar for greater than a 12 months.

The park can maintain as much as 6,000 guests at a time. About 68 per cent of the park is roofed by vegetation, with its 912 timber and 820 sq. metres of lengthy inexperienced partitions additionally serving to to keep up optimum temperatures.

“I usually don’t take my phone to the park but today I got it just to show the outdoor air-conditioning to my parents and children,” Mr Khan says.

Today, he has additionally known as a few of his buddies to the park, and the group plans to catch up over some meals till closing time, at midnight.

The park’s safety supervisor, Peter, says the air con is switched on at 3pm and switched off at 11pm.

“After that, the people start to leave. We also see higher footfall over the weekend,” he says, as he completes his night rounds.

“Apart from the joggers and walkers, a lot of people come to use the open gym, which is close to the air-conditioned track.”

After dusk, the group begins rising. Ali Fouani and his spouse Sara discover a seat within the play space and hope to “smell some fresh air”.

“We live 10 minutes away. We walk and our child plays, all outdoors! We have travelled to Dubai and Europe but I haven’t seen anything like this before. We have been recommending the place to all our friends,” says Ali, a Qatar Airways worker.

His spouse says they are going to spend two to a few hours on the park and depart when their three-year-old little one will get drained.

“It’s very hard to keep children indoors. This works for us,” she says.

Updated: July 31, 2023, 3:35 AM