Heatwave hits Iraq as temperature nears 50 °C

A new heatwave has engulfed Iraq with temperature jumping to about 50 degrees Celsius in the central and southern provinces, the Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology said in a statement on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The maximum temperature in the southern provinces of Basra, Qadisiyah, and Muthanna climbed to 51 degrees Celsius, according to the statement.

The temperature reached 50 degrees Celsius in the capital Baghdad and the provinces of Salahudin, Anbar, Karbala, Najaf, Maysan and Dhi Qar, the statement said.

Iraq regularly witnesses a scorching summer with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, prompting some provincial governments to allow a public holiday to prevent sunstroke.

The heatwave comes as Iraq has been witnessing chronic power shortage since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Iraqi government fails to address the issue because of corruption and poor management, especially after the recent bomb attacks that targeted the country's electric power grid.