Iraq is particularly exposed to certain effects of climate change. This Monday, the country is suffocating for the second day in a row under a heat wave with temperatures rising to 51 degrees Celsius. The thermometer reached 50 degrees in the capital Baghdad on Sunday and should also cross this threshold on Monday, said Amer al-Jabri, spokesman for the Iraqi meteorological agency, referring to a “heat wave”.
“The highest temperatures will be observed [lundi] in the South with 51 degrees expected in Samawah, Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah and Najaf regions,” he noted. In some provinces, such as Dhi Qar (south), the authorities have reduced the working hours of civil servants. Temperatures are expected to drop somewhat in the coming days, according to Amer al-Jabri, but the weather forecast predicts “high temperatures until the end of September”.
The ordeal of working outdoors
Many Iraqis cannot afford air conditioning in their homes. In this country, which is nevertheless immensely rich in oil, the electricity network is failing and only provides a few hours of current per day due to lack of maintenance and capacity. And paying the owner of a private generator is not within the reach of all budgets: more than 100 euros per month for a family of four.
And those of the Iraqis who have to work outdoors evoke an ordeal. Like Faleh Hassan, 41, who delivers electrical appliances and furniture by carrying them on his back. “The heat is indescribable, but we are forced to work. We don’t have any other work”, explains this father of six children.
Fourth consecutive year of drought
At a crossroads in Baghdad, a traffic policeman who did not want to give his name, says he takes “three, four and sometimes five showers in a row” when he returns home. “But I still feel like I’m in the heat,” he said. Iraq is currently experiencing its fourth consecutive year of drought resulting in very high temperatures and a lack of rainfall.
According to the UN, Iraq is one of the five countries most exposed to some effects of climate change. “Rising temperatures, drought and loss of biodiversity are a reality. This is a wake-up call to Iraq and the world,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said last week after a visit to Iraq.