Temperatures in the Middle East have topped 125 degrees after a run of record-breaking heat. Several countries tied or challenged national records amid the blistering heatwave, which has brought a string of temperatures about 15 degrees above normal to the already baked region. Five countries joined the 50-degree Celsius club, which equates to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme heat comes a full month before high temperatures reach their annual average peak.

Such blistering heat episodes are becoming increasingly common in an environment shaped by the continuing impacts of human-induced climate change. The Middle East is already one of the hottest regions in the world, with triple-digit temperatures and bone-dry conditions the norm.

On Saturday, high temperatures hit 123.8 degrees in Sweihan, a small town about 50 miles east of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Omidieh in southwestern Iran also climbed to 123.8 degrees, while Jahra, Kuwait, on the Persian Gulf, managed 123.6 degrees.