Iraqi Electric Grid Collapsing As Temps Soar Past 120F; Farming & Fishing Crushed By Drought
Extreme heat is paralyzing Iraq, forcing shutdowns in the overstretched power grid as authorities extend public holidays to protect employees from 125-degree temperatures. Iraq ranks fifth on the list of countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and it is heating faster than much of the globe. Almost 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country is ill-equipped to cope with the strain.
In the southern provinces of Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan, authorities said Saturday that the electricity grid had lost power for a second night in a row, plunging millions of homes into darkness through the sweltering night. Food spoiled in fridges. Parents put their children in the car and drove for hours — the air conditioning in their vehicles was the only way to stay cool. By Sunday morning, the governor of Dhi Qar province, one of the poorest in Iraq, said that a public holiday for state employees would be extended until the religious festival of Muharram begins Tuesday, “due to the noticeable rise in temperatures.”
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But as forecasts indicated that most Iraqi provinces were likely to witness temperatures of around 120 degrees or higher this week, the electricity grid is not the only public service faltering. Farming and fishing, two crucial pillars in the state’s attempts to move away from reliance on oil revenue, are being pummeled by drought. Overstretched hospitals are treating cases of heatstroke or breathing difficulties that have probably been worsened by toxic fumes trapped in the air, doctors say.
On Baghdad’s streets Sunday, young boys hawked water from ice boxes, sparing their faces from the sun with sweat-soaked scarves. Veteran traffic police said their job was getting harder and harder. “I’ve done this for 16 years,” said Falah Nouri, 37, as he rested on a battered sidewalk by the Tigris River. “It’s not just the sun. It’s the fumes and how the concrete heats beneath our feet.” He said that his soles had been burned and that he was wearing shoes recommended by his doctor as a result. “He wants me to take time off, but how do I get time off? We need to work,” the policeman said, exasperated.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/07/baghdad-heat-record/
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