Iraq suffers through blistering heatwave- temps hit 52 C

August 5, 2011 – BAGHDAD – Extreme weather in Iraq where temperatures reached 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on early Tuesday afternoon, forecasters said. With a humidity of five percent and winds with a speed of about 9 kilometres (2.6 miles) per hour, temperatures reached 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) at Ali Air Base near the city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar Governorate. The record temperature was recorded at around 1 p.m. local time. Others parts of Iraq also experienced extreme heat on Tuesday, including in Al Diwaniyah where forecasters said the temperature could still reach 53 degrees Celsius (127.4 degrees Fahrenheit) later in the day. In Baghdad, the country’s capital, temperatures reached 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was on September 13, 1922. Temperatures then reached 57.7 degrees Celsius (136 degrees Fahrenheit) in El Azizia, Libya. –IWO

Electric Grid on the brink: Iraqi officials say the electrical grid is providing eight hours a day of electricity to Iraqis and that full electricity will take several years. In reality, most people receive four or five hours a day, with electricity on for 15 minutes to an hour at a time and then off again. Last month, the Iraqi government shifted working hours to allow government employees to leave an hour earlier to conserve electricity. Those who can afford it buy electricity from business people who run neighborhood generators or rely on small generators in their homes to power lights and air-coolers, inexpensive devices which cool small areas by recirculating air through water. –CSM