Iran has announced two days of holiday due to extreme heat in the city. According to Iranian state media Wednesday and Thursday this week will be public holidays because of "unprecedented heat". The government on Tuesday asked the elderly and people with health conditions to stay indoors.
Many cities in southern Iran have already suffered from days of exceptional heat. State media reported temperatures had this week exceeded 123 degrees Fahrenheit (51 Celsius) in the southern city of Ahvaz.
Government spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi was quoted by state media as saying Wednesday and Thursday would be holidays, while the health ministry said hospitals would be on high alert. Temperatures are expected to be 39 C in Tehran on Wednesday. Heatwaves have affected large parts of the globe in recent weeks. Scientists have linked them to human-induced climate change.
In recent days, cities and towns in Iran have seen temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The capital, Tehran, experienced 38° C (100.4 degrees F) on Tuesday.
The metrological office predicted Tehran would see temperatures of 39 degrees Celcius (102.2 degrees F) over the next three days. Ahvaz, the capital of an oil-rich province in the country’s southwest, experienced 50 degrees Celcius (122 degrees F) on Tuesday.
Recommended For You
Earlier, in 2022, Iran registered its hottest temperature at 53 degrees Celcius (127.4 degrees F) in Ahvaz.
Meanwhile, on July 4 this year, Earth recorded its hottest day in modern history when the average global temperature reached 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit). It was mainly blamed on climate change and the emerging El Nino pattern. The highest registered air temperature on Earth is 56.7 degrees C (134 degrees F), recorded July 10, 1913, in Death Valley in the state of California.
(With Agency Inputs)