How do mirages form on hot days in the Arabian Desert?

Mirages in the Arabian Desert are not products of imagination but are optical phenomena caused by the refraction of light.12

On hot days, the intense sunshine heats the air near the ground, making it significantly warmer and less dense than the cooler air above it. As light rays travel through these layers of varying density, they bend or refract.12

This specific type of occurrence is known as an inferior mirage. When light from a distant object—such as the sky or a traveler—passes through the hot, rarefied air near the surface, it curves upward toward the observer’s eye. This creates the illusion that the light originated from below the ground, often manifesting as a shimmering pool of water or a distorted reflection of the sky on the desert floor.21