Rising global temperatures could soon push the sun-baked cities of the Gulf across a threshold unknown since the start of civilization: the first to experience temperatures that are literally too hot for human survival.

A scientific study released yesterday warns that at least five of the region's great metropolises could see summer days that surpass the "human habitability" limit, with heat and humidity so high that even the healthiest people could not withstand more than a few hours outdoors.

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