Baker Eid Ahmed just can’t get away from Saudi Arabia’s notorious heat: he makes bread next to a sweltering oven for 13 hours a day, only to step outside into summer temperatures that can soar past 45C.

Armed with an ice-cold water bottle and a wet cloth, the 35-year-old Egyptian was doing his best to stay cool while wearing his mandatory mask and hair cap.

“It’s hot outside, but inside, it’s like fire,” he said, shoving a board loaded with flatbreads into a large wood-fired oven.

“Standing here in front of the fire is like hell,” he added as customers waited in the shade outside the small Riyadh bakery.

In arid Saudi Arabia, summer temperatures regularly reach 50C, leaving streets empty for much of the day.

To protect labourers, the kingdom bans work under direct sunlight and outside

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