A traffic policeman works amid a heatwave in a square in Baghdad, Iraq, July 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A heat wave is expected to hit Iraq in the coming weeks, with temperatures surpassing 50 degrees Celsius, an Iraqi environment and climate observatory forecasted on Tuesday.
"Temperatures will peak at 52 degrees Celsius in the last week of July and the first week of August," the Green Iraq observatory said in a statement.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in Iraq was 53.6 degrees Celsius in the southern province of Basra in July 2016, according to the observatory.
As stated by Iraqi law, when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius, the government grants holidays to its institutions, excluding the security forces and medical services. ■
