The truth of photos that sparked panic as cars melted in Kuwait due to the high temperature
Spreading on social networking sites, a set of pictures caused panic, it was said that they show the melting of solid objects as a result of the very high temperatures in Kuwait.
It is true that Kuwait is experiencing a very hot summer, but these images have nothing to do with the heat wave there.
The post includes a set of photos, all showing melted objects such as car headlights, a waste container, a water tank and traffic lights.
Also, an egg appears in one of them, as if it had matured on the asphalt.
In the comment accompanying the publication, it was said that everything that appears in the pictures is due to the severe heat wave in Kuwait.
Horrific scenes in Kuwait to exceed 70 degrees: melting cars and traffic lights and burning some of them! /b4ijFC4Cmh
— mohamed elgharabawy (@melgarbawy1) July 4, 2021
These images began circulating on the 4th of July, at a time when Kuwait was setting record temperatures.
However, these pictures have nothing to do with the heat wave there.
The pictures circulated again of melting cars due to the high temperature in Kuwait, and the real pictures from the US state of Arizona, after a fire broke out near the University of Arizona in June 2018, damaged the cars that were next to the scene of the accident.
Details:
https://t.co/0iU8XrQeKx pic.twitter.com/kGaTI5QPvz
— Anti-Rumors Authority (@No_Rumors) July 4, 2021
A search for a photo that shows melting car headlights leads to it posted on a Facebook page on June 20, 2018. Its publisher, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, said it was from a fire that broke out at a "student housing construction site."
The photo was published by local news websites in Arizona, with articles about the massive fire that caused massive damage.
The Fact Crescendo website, which checks for false news, also indicated that the photos date back to 2018, in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
The site pointed out that the cars were melted by a huge fire that broke out in an apartment building on the south campus of the University of Arizona on June 19, 2018, and the accident resulted in the collapse of the building, two cranes and cars.
The site also indicated that from its research, it found that the sign on the wall behind the cars in the photo proves that it has a registered apartment building number in Tucson, Arizona.
Fact Crescendo also confirmed that cars cannot melt at 62 degrees Celsius, because car bumpers (rear door and trunk) are likely to be made of polypropylene or polymers, which melt at 179 degrees Celsius.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper, "Al-Rai", the official in the Meteorological Department in Kuwait, Abdulaziz Al-Qarawi, said on Saturday, July 3, that "the temperature under the sun's rays ranged, on Friday, between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius."
He added, "The temperature during the past days reached 53.5 degrees Celsius in the shade in some areas of Kuwait."
Al-Qarawi explained that "the readings and recording of the temperature are taken globally according to a unified mechanism, which is to measure the air temperature in the shade."
He pointed out that "the temperature under the sun's rays, which can be read from car devices and other devices, ranged between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius, and he expected the temperature to drop to its normal levels last Sunday, ranging between 48 and 49 degrees Celsius."
According to the newspaper, governorates in Kuwait, including Salwa and Jahra, lost electricity, amid calls by the Ministry of Electricity for citizens and residents of the Gulf country to rationalize the consumption of electrical energy.
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