Iraqis languish in heat with no power as experts fear worse to come


Sinan Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

Millions of Iraqis are struggling through suffocating heat without power, adding to a list of woes including erratic or undrinkable water supplies and deteriorated security.

“It’s like Iraq is facing the open doors of hell,” Samir Mohammed Khalid told The National, after stopping before a water-spraying fan at one of Baghdad’s outdoor markets.

“We can’t stay indoors because of the electricity outages and a lack of drinking water, and we can’t go shopping. In both cases, you are being tortured,” said Mr Khalid, who teaches Arabic.

Amid the brutal heat, Iraqis suffered a widespread power cut on Friday for the first time in decades. It affected millions of people nationwide, sparing only the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

The Electricity Ministry said power generation from the national grid dropped at about 3am on Friday to about 4,000 megawatts from the average of 12,000 to 17,000MW.

Unstable electricity had been restored in most areas by the afternoon.

Iraq’s power demand can exceed 25,000MW in summer as the public switches on power-hungry air conditioning units.

That surge in demand quickly overwhelms the ailing power grid, which has suffered from militant attacks on electricity towers and a lack of investment linked to the misuse of funds allocated for the power sector.

Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq has spent at least $60 billion on the electricity sector, the country’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi told reporters last year.

Heat means money to us. What else is better than cold watermelon and orange juice in this summer?
Mohammed,
55

Aside from money lost to corruption, much has been misallocated. Power stations have been built without consideration of adequate fuel supplies or whether the grid can handle the extra electricity, according to an International Energy Agency report.

Street vendors for ice cream, cold drinks and watermelon are dotted on Baghdad’s streets and intersections, for those who want to cool down.

Some shopkeepers have set up showers on the pavement.

“Parched? Get fresh and cold watermelon and juice,” reads a sign on Jumaa Kahlil Mohammed’s cart, where slices of watermelon are put on dishes, along with forks.

Next to the cart is a hand-operated orange press for fresh juice.

  • An Iraqi man connects overhead cables providing generator electricity to homes and businesses who can afford it in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures. AFP
    An Iraqi man connects overhead cables providing generator electricity to homes and businesses who can afford it in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures. AFP
  • An Iraqi worker loads ice blocks into a customer's pick-up truck at a factory in the northern city of Mosul, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    An Iraqi worker loads ice blocks into a customer's pick-up truck at a factory in the northern city of Mosul, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • An Iraqi man buys ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    An Iraqi man buys ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • Iraqi youths buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    Iraqi youths buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • Iraqis buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    Iraqis buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • An Iraqi man connects overhead cables providing generator electricity to homes and businesses who can afford it in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    An Iraqi man connects overhead cables providing generator electricity to homes and businesses who can afford it in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • An Iraqi man works at a generator subscription distribution room in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    An Iraqi man works at a generator subscription distribution room in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • Iraqi youths buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    Iraqi youths buy ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • An Iraqi man buys ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    An Iraqi man buys ice blocks at a factory in Sadr City, east of the capital Baghdad, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
  • Iraqis buy ice blocks from a factory in the northern city of Mosul, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.
    Iraqis buy ice blocks from a factory in the northern city of Mosul, amid power outages and soaring temperatures.

“Heat means money to us,” said Mohammed, 55, with a smile, his straw hat wet. “What else is better than cold watermelon and orange juice in this summer?”

Amid the pandemic, Hamid Tawfeeq Ali can no longer escape the summer in the southern province of Basra.

“Before coronavirus, we would travel to Turkey for at least a month, but now with the ongoing restrictions on travel we have no other option, only to wait for the water to be available to splash the kids,” Mr Ali said.

The Iraqi weather service said the country was under the influence of a seasonal Indian depression that caused the latest heatwave, which started on June 26 and lasted for five days.

“We were supposed to enter this heatwave in early June, but the winds from the Mediterranean delayed it,” weather service spokesman Amir Al Jabiri told The National.

The hardest-hit areas are in southern Iraq, where temperature ranges from 49 to 52°C, Mr Al Jabiri said.

Temperatures have since fallen by now down by 2 to 3°C across the country, he added.

The capital Baghdad reached 43°C on Monday, down from 50°C registered on Thursday, he said.

And the temperature now ranges from 45 to 48°C in the southern province of Basra and most of the southern provinces, he said.

However, he warned of a new heatwave starting from Thursday that could last for four days.

Top 5 concerns globally:

1. Unemployment

2. Spread of infectious diseases

3. Fiscal crises

4. Cyber attacks

5. Profound social instability

Top 5 concerns in the Mena region

1. Energy price shock

2. Fiscal crises

3. Spread of infectious diseases

4. Unmanageable inflation

5. Cyber attacks

Source: World Economic Foundation

match info

Southampton 0

Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')

Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)

Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20%E2%80%93%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

Men – semi-finals

57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.

67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.

60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28

63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.

71kg​​​​​​​ – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28

81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27

86kg​​​​​​​ – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round

Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How it works

A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank

Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night 

The charge is stored inside a battery

The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode

A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes 

This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode

When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again

The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge

No limit on how many times you can charge

 

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Saturday  (UAE kick-off times)

Leganes v Getafe (12am)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Levante v Alaves (4pm)

Real Madrid v Sevilla (7pm)

Osasuna v Valladolid (9.30pm)

Sunday

Eibar v Atletico Madrid (12am)

Mallorca v Valencia (3pm)

Real Betis v Real Sociedad (5pm)

Villarreal v Espanyol (7pm)

Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)

Monday

Barcelona v Granada (12am)

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Sting & Shaggy

44/876

(Interscope)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

Malcolm & Marie

Directed by: Sam Levinson

Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya

Three stars

RACE CARD

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

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Updated: July 06, 2021, 2:12 AM