Iraq experienced a massive power outage this week as a severe heatwave swept across the country, with temperatures soaring to 50 degrees Celsius in several regions.

According to Iraq’s Meteorological Department, the heatwave could persist for more than a week.

Temperatures are expected to rise to 50 degrees Celsius in some regions. Due to grid interruption, most of the households rely on their private generators.

The outage occurred as the electricity grid faced a “total outage” after the shutdown of two transmission lines.

This was attributed to a significant rise in the temperatures, an increase in consumer demands, and this also includes an increase in load in the province of Babylon and Karbala, which are also currently hosting a religious event.

The power ministry reported that over 6,000 megawatts of electricity were suddenly and unintentionally lost from the grid, and power plants across Iraq ceased operations as a result of the system failure.

The northern Kurdistan region managed to avoid the outage, benefiting from modernised power sectors that are capable of providing electricity round the clock to a third of its population.

The ministry added that government teams were actively working on the ground to gradually restore the grid.

Authorities also stated that the power would be restored in stages in the southern provinces of Dhi Qar and Maysan, with the port city of Basra expected to regain electricity on Tuesday.

The Ministry also stated that electricity outages are common in Iraq, which gets worse in the hot summer season.

Met Office spokesperson Amer Al Jaberi, while talking to AFP, highlighted that heatwaves in Iraq are becoming more intense and frequent compared to the weather conditions of the 20th Century due to climate change and human activities.

He emphasised the need for a “Green Belt” around Baghdad to help mitigate the rise in temperatures.

Earlier in July 2023, a fire at a transmission station in southern Iraq led to a widespread power outage, exacerbating the ongoing electricity crisis in the country.

The majority of Iraqis relied on private generators to cope with frequent power cuts, but these generators often fell short of powering all household appliances, particularly air conditioners.

Even in the absence of a nationwide blackout, the poorest citizens faced extreme heat daily. Haider Abbas, a 44-year-old day labourer from Al Qassim in Babylon province, described his struggles in his concrete-walled home.

With no air conditioner and limited resources, he depended on an air cooler that required constant refilling with water bottles.

“It’s hot, we don’t have electricity; it comes on for two hours, and then we can sleep a little and rest,” he lamented.

Reflecting on the rising temperatures, Abbas noted, “When I was little, we didn’t have these (high) temperatures. At 52 degrees Celsius, I can’t work.”

To prevent outages during peak demand, Iraq needed to produce approximately 55,000 megawatts of electricity.

However, during that month, the country’s power plants only managed to reach a threshold of 28,000 megawatts for the first time.