Beach life is one of the best things about living in Kuwait. Super hot day? Take the kids and go to Corniche! Love water sports? Rent a jet-ski and terrorize swimmers up and down the coast. Not much for motors? Go a bit south and join those acrobatic kite surfers.

Whatever you choose, you’re bound to come out of the water with a bit of an itch, like a film of dirt has covered you. You don’t want to believe it’s the water, so you assume it’s that cream your friend told you to use to get the perfect bronze tone, but made you look like a perfectly ripened beetroot instead.

It’s time you called that friend and apologized, because the Public Authority of Environment in Kuwait has finally admitted that the Arabian Gulf probably isn’t the safest place for a swim:

The photo, taken by Instagram user @sindisa, makes you just want to do a running dive into the gulf by the Movenpick in Bida’a. Thanks to the sign, not our week-old itches, we know that this is no longer an option.

If you’d like more information about Kuwait’s marine environment check out our post Kayak4Kuwait: We Care to find out how you can help make Kuwait’s waters cleaner, and maybe we’ll be able to swim in the Arabian Gulf again one day.