Iraq broils in dangerous 120-degree heat as power grid shuts down

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

BAGHDAD — 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.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iraq-broils-in-dangerous-120-degree-heat-as-power-grid-shuts-down/ar-AA10pBGI

[progree]

1. "Parents put their children in the car and drove for hours -- the air conditioning in their vehicles

was the only way to stay cool."

and of course makes the local air pollution and world greenhouse gas situation worse.

(The article discusses the air pollution from the diesel fumes from running privately-owned backup diesel-fueled generators plus the increasing frequency of sandstorms hitting Baghdad "as Baghdad's green belt dries up. This summer, thousands of people have been hospitalized with breathing problems as a result. There isn’t much the doctors can do." )