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Iraq heatwave sends temperatures up to 53°C


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Home » Region » Iraq heatwave sends temperatures up to 53°C

Iraq heatwave sends temperatures up to 53°C

By AP - Jul 20,2016 - Last updated at Jul 20,2016

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People cool off from the summer heat by using an open air shower in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. Iraqis are enduring the year’s hottest day to date, with temperatures soaring to 51oC in Baghdad and as much as 53oC in the southern part of the country (AP photo)

BAGHDAD — Iraqis on Wednesday endured the hottest day so far this year, with temperatures soaring up to 51oC in Baghdad and as much as 53oC  in the southern part of the country.

The government has given its workers Wednesday and Thursday off because of the heatwave, which is expected to break on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are the weekend in Iraq as in most Arab countries.

Iraq's summers are known for their merciless heat, but the government's chief weather forecaster Hassan Abdul Karim said this week's highs were well above average for this time of year. A similarly unforgiving heatwave was expected next month, he told The Associated Press.

Desertification over the past five years, he explained, has driven temperatures up.

High summer temperatures routinely compound the woes of Iraqis, who have since the US-led invasion 13 years ago had to cope with almost daily violence, political instability, poor services, a massive exodus abroad of professionals and high rates of serious crime like kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies and contract killings.

The current heatwave is scorching Baghdad as the city continues to reel from the deadliest — nearly 300 killed — single bombing in 13 years on July 3 and lengthy power cuts that leave most homes without electricity for a total of 12 hours a day, forcing them to buy power from privately-owned neighborhood generators.

But just as Iraqis have shown resilience and ingenuity in dealing with the violence, they do likewise when it comes to exceptionally hot days.

"There is no electricity and temperature is very high, so we came to this swimming pool as it is the only way to cool ourselves," said Ammar Adnan, sitting on the edge of the recently opened indoor pool in Baghdad's Al Azamaiyah district.

"We will stay here until the evening, when we hope the temperature will get down," he said.

A few kilometres away in central Baghdad's busy Sinak market, Kazim Ali was doing a brisk business off his pink-and-purple stand, selling sweaty shoppers cocktails of soda mixed with a syrup of sugar, vinegar and mint for 1,000 dinars (85 US cents) a glass.

"I never raise my prices when it is this hot, but the guy who sells me the ice charged me 50 per cent more today," lamented Kazim.

Street hawkers, some covering their faces with handkerchiefs to keep off the heat, sold slices of cold watermelon or broke a sweat pumping air into children's plastic pools they hoped to sell. Some storekeepers were merciful to shoppers, setting up showers on the sidewalk that men stood under without hesitation to cool off.

http://jordantimes.com/news/region/iraq-heatwave-sends-temperatures-53°c

 

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2 hours ago, SocalDinar said:

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Home » Region » Iraq heatwave sends temperatures up to 53°C

Iraq heatwave sends temperatures up to 53°C

By AP - Jul 20,2016 - Last updated at Jul 20,2016

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1iraq.jpg?itok=SiVXR3DW

People cool off from the summer heat by using an open air shower in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. Iraqis are enduring the year’s hottest day to date, with temperatures soaring to 51oC in Baghdad and as much as 53oC in the southern part of the country (AP photo)

BAGHDAD — Iraqis on Wednesday endured the hottest day so far this year, with temperatures soaring up to 51oC in Baghdad and as much as 53oC  in the southern part of the country.

The government has given its workers Wednesday and Thursday off because of the heatwave, which is expected to break on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are the weekend in Iraq as in most Arab countries.

Iraq's summers are known for their merciless heat, but the government's chief weather forecaster Hassan Abdul Karim said this week's highs were well above average for this time of year. A similarly unforgiving heatwave was expected next month, he told The Associated Press.

Desertification over the past five years, he explained, has driven temperatures up.

High summer temperatures routinely compound the woes of Iraqis, who have since the US-led invasion 13 years ago had to cope with almost daily violence, political instability, poor services, a massive exodus abroad of professionals and high rates of serious crime like kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies and contract killings.

The current heatwave is scorching Baghdad as the city continues to reel from the deadliest — nearly 300 killed — single bombing in 13 years on July 3 and lengthy power cuts that leave most homes without electricity for a total of 12 hours a day, forcing them to buy power from privately-owned neighborhood generators.

But just as Iraqis have shown resilience and ingenuity in dealing with the violence, they do likewise when it comes to exceptionally hot days.

"There is no electricity and temperature is very high, so we came to this swimming pool as it is the only way to cool ourselves," said Ammar Adnan, sitting on the edge of the recently opened indoor pool in Baghdad's Al Azamaiyah district.

"We will stay here until the evening, when we hope the temperature will get down," he said.

A few kilometres away in central Baghdad's busy Sinak market, Kazim Ali was doing a brisk business off his pink-and-purple stand, selling sweaty shoppers cocktails of soda mixed with a syrup of sugar, vinegar and mint for 1,000 dinars (85 US cents) a glass.

"I never raise my prices when it is this hot, but the guy who sells me the ice charged me 50 per cent more today," lamented Kazim.

Street hawkers, some covering their faces with handkerchiefs to keep off the heat, sold slices of cold watermelon or broke a sweat pumping air into children's plastic pools they hoped to sell. Some storekeepers were merciful to shoppers, setting up showers on the sidewalk that men stood under without hesitation to cool off.

http://jordantimes.com/news/region/iraq-heatwave-sends-temperatures-53°c

 

51 C = approx 123 F

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Very very hot down here as well, hottest year I can remember. Leaving the office and getting into the car is torture. I hope they can at least get electricity to last more then half a day up and running soon, I feel bad for the citizens and I'm sure the heat is relentless and very uncomfortable. 

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6 hours ago, Dinarian64 said:

Scary

the brain starts to cook when you have a fever over 104... Can't imagine what's happening with these people. How in the world are they surviving this heat? 

LOL.  Im heading to my gold claim in Barstow CA to go dig in the dirt  for some of the shiney stuff tomorrow. Forecast is 109 degrees.  Don't have to worry about snakes for sure.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Published — Sunday 24 July 2016
 
 
 
 

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s state-run Meteorological Department says it has registered the record hottest day so far this year, with maximum temperatures hitting 53.9 degrees Celsius in the southern city of Basra.
Weather forecaster Nagham Mohammed expected temperatures Saturday to hover around 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 Fahrenheit) in Basra and to decline in the coming days. Mohammed added that temperatures in Baghdad are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
Weather historian, Christopher C. Burt, with the private Weather Underground, said Basra’s temperature is the second hottest “ever reliably measured on Earth” following the 54 degrees Celsius (129.2 Fahrenheit) registered in Kuwait the same day.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/958631/middle-eastOn Wednesday, temperatures soared up to 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 Fahrenheit) in Baghdad and as much as 53 degrees Celsius (127.4 Fahrenheit) in Basra.

 

Kuwait being swept by ‘abnormal’ heat wave — Mitribah records hottest ever temperature of 54 C

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KUWAIT: Pedestrians brave the blazing sun amid a heat wave that has raised temperatures to unprecedented levels. A recent international report identified Kuwait as one of the hottest spots on earth this year. ñ Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula was swept by an abnormal heat wave during the past two days, particularly in Kuwait and Iraq, with temperatures soaring over 50 degrees Celsius, a senior meteorologist said yesterday. These unprecedented temperature levels are most likely caused by the El Nino phenomenon’s recent impact on air masses in the atmosphere, Essa Ramadan, meteorologist and consultant at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), told KUNA.

Temperatures in Kuwait reached 54 degrees Celsius last week, making Thursday the hottest day ever recorded. The blistering temperature was recorded in Mitribah in Kuwait. Weather historian Christopher C Burt, with the private Weather Underground, said the temperature is the hottest “ever reliably measured air temperatures on Earth”. Kuwait’s reading ties Death Valley’s 54 degrees Celsius (129.2 Fahrenheit) one, which was measured on June 30, 2013 as the hottest reliably measured on Earth, Burt added. Many other higher temperatures have been reported in the past but none are credible, he said.

El Nino has affected the region significantly in the past, Ramadan noted yesterday, pointing out the heavy rains in 1997 and the abnormal heat wave in 1998 with 51.4 C recorded at Kuwait International Airport at that time. He added that Kuwait was hit by dusty northwestern winds early yesterday that would gradually diminish by today, adding that temperature is also expected be lower than 50 C next week. High temperature is to continue until end of August, Ramadan said, adding that it will gradually fall after Sept 6.

Iraq’s state-run Meteorological Department said yesterday that it had registered the hottest day so far this year, with maximum temperatures hitting 53.9 degrees Celsius in the southern city of Basra. Friday’s merciless heat in Basra forced the majority of the residents to almost abandon the streets or to swim in the river. Increasing the residents’ suffering were chronic electricity outages, caused mainly by the soaring temperatures and the decline in electricity imported from neighboring Iran. –

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/kuwait-swept-abnormal-heat-wave-mitribah-records-hottest-ever-temperature-54-c/
Edited by SocalDinar
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Two places in the world where it's 54 degrees

By Jason Samenow

11:56 AM Sunday Jul 24, 2016
 
 
An Iraqi man cools off the summer heat by using an open air shower in Baghdad. Photo / AP An Iraqi man cools off the summer heat by using an open air shower in Baghdad. Photo / AP

The temperature in Mitribah, Kuwait, surged on Friday to a blistering 54 degrees Celcius (129.2 F). And on Saturday in Basra, Iraq, the mercury soared to 53.9 C (129.0 F).

If confirmed, these incredible measurements would represent the two hottest temperatures ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere, according to Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters and weather historian Christopher Burt.

It's also possible that Mitribah's 129.2-degree reading matches the hottest ever reliably measured anywhere in the world. Both Mitribah and Basra's readings are likely the highest ever recorded outside of Death Valley, California.

Death Valley currently holds the record for the world's hottest temperature of 56.7 C (134.1 F), set July 10, 1913. But Weather Underground's Burt does not believe it is a credible measurement.

"[T]he record has been scrutinised perhaps more than any other in the United States," Burt wrote. "I don't have much more to add to the debate aside from my belief it is most likely not a valid reading when one looks at all the evidence."

If you discard the Death Valley record from 1913, the reading from Mitribah would tie the world's highest known temperature, also observed in Death Valley on June 30, 2013, and in Tirat Tsvi, Israel, on June 22, 1942. But Masters says the Israeli measurement is controversial.

Basra, the city of 1.5 million about 120km northwest of the Gulf, has registered historic heat on two straight days. On Friday, it hit 53.6 C, the highest temperature ever recorded in Iraq, which it then surpassed on Saturday, rising to 53.9 C.

While the Middle East's highest temperatures have occurred in arid, land-locked locations, locations along the much more sultry Gulf and Gulf of Oman have faced the most oppressive combination of heat and humidity. Air temperatures of about 38 C combined with astronomical humidity levels have pushed heat index values, which reflect how hot the air feels, literally off the charts.

 

 

 

In Fujairah, on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, the dew point - a measure of humidity - reached 32 C on Friday. The dew point, combined with the air temperature of 36 C, computes to a heat index of over 60 C.

But this combination of temperature and humidity is so extreme that it's beyond levels the heat index is designed to measure. The index, developed by R.G. Steadman in 1979, is intended to compute values up to only about 57.7 C.

In Bandar Mahshahr, Iran, on Friday, the air temperature soared to 41 C, which, combined with a dew point of 30 C, would produce a heat index over 60 C, also over the limit. These conditions were only slightly less extreme than on July 31 last year, when Bandar Mahshahr posted an air temperature of 46 C and dew point of 32 C, which resulted in an over-the-limit heat index of 74 C. Bandar Mahshahr sits adjacent to the Gulf in southwest Iran.

In the much more arid Basra, the dew point was only in the 30s while the relative humidity was a bone-dry 4 per cent. These conditions produce a heat index lower than the actual air temperature, about 46 C. That is, the ultra-dry air made it feel not as hot.

The torrid conditions observed in the Middle East over the last two northern summers may be a harbinger of even more extreme heat in the future. A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change in October cautioned that by the end of the century, due to climate change, temperatures may become too hot for human survival.

In March, the National Academy of Sciences published a report that stated worsening heat waves are among the weather events that can be most easily connected to human-caused climate change.

All record temperatures noted are preliminary and await validation from the World Meteorological Organisation.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11680422&ref=rss

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IRAQ RECORDS 54°C, THE HOTTEST DAY OF 2016
Iraq, July 24, 2016
Iraq’s state-run Meteorological Department said on Saturday that it had registered the hottest day so far this year, with maximum temperatures hitting 53.9°C in the southern city of Basra.

Friday’s merciless heat in Basra forced the majority of the residents to almost abandon the streets or to swim in the river.

Increasing the residents’ suffering were chronic electricity outages, caused mainly by the soaring temperatures and the decline in electricity imported from neighbouring Iran.

Starting from Saturday, temperatures are expected to hover around 49°C in Basra and continue to decline in the coming days, weather forecaster Nagham Mohammed said.

Mohammed added that temperatures in Baghdad are expected to reach 45°C.

Weather historian, Christopher C. Burt, with the private Weather Underground, said Basra’s temperature is the second hottest “ever reliably measured on Earth” following the 54°C registered in Kuwait the same day.

The Kuwait’s reading ties Death Valley’s 54 °C one, which was measured on June 30, 2013 as the hottest reliably measured air temperatures on Earth, Burt added. Many other higher temperatures have been reported in the past but none are credible, he said.

On Wednesday, temperatures soared up to 51°C in Baghdad and as much as 53°C in Basra.

The day before, the government announced a two-day mandatory official holiday beginning on Wednesday in the first such heat-related holiday declared this summer. 

It is not uncommon for such public holidays to be declared when heat waves hit during Iraq’s harsh summers.

The Iraqi Meteorological Department has said that this week’s highs were well above average for this time of year. The heat is expected to decline nationwide, but a similarly unforgiving heat wave is expected next month.

High temperatures in summer are common in Iraq, and endemic electricity outages make life harder for Iraqis when temperatures soar. To cope with the heat, Iraqis either stay indoors or swim in rivers. In some public places, showers are set up for those who want to cool down.

The heat waves in recent years only added to the woes Iraqis have endured since the 2003 US-led invasion, including daily violence, political wrangling, poor public services, a massive exodus abroad of professionals and high rates of serious crime like kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies and contract killings.

(gulftoday)
 
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HOLIDAYS AND HEAT BRING 20,000 TOURISTS TO A KURDISH TOWN
Iraq, July 26, 2016

Nearly 20,000 tourists flocked the Kurdish town of Soran this weekend. It was searing summer heat that brought so many people here.

 

 

They escaped the record high temperatures. The gov’t of Kurdistan and Iraq announced official holidays to avoid the heat. 

 

 

Soran is a mountainous region of Kurdistan. It has cooler temperatures, fresh water and the right scenery.

 

 

Many of the tourists who came here from Iraq. A chance to cool off and swim in the cold waters.

 

 

Some 400 companies have been licensed by the tourism ministry to bring tourists to Kurdistan. 

 

 

Soran and its resorts however, have no enough accommodation for the rising number of visitors. The tourists usually stay near the rivers, under the canopies and away from the sun.

 

(rudaw)

 

http://iraqdailyjournal.com/story-z13602686

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  • 2 weeks later...
On July 21, 2016 at 5:33 PM, SocalDinar said:

LOL.  Im heading to my gold claim in Barstow CA to go dig in the dirt  for some of the shiney stuff tomorrow. Forecast is 109 degrees.  Don't have to worry about snakes for sure.

So your one of those.

when I visit the American river I see you guys driving buckets at the river heavy jackets and shovels. Doesn't seem like a great day at the river but they seem happy you got 40 bucks with the gold…goodness for you the price is rising

 

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