Heat wave forces Iran to shutter government offices and banks as electricity consumption soars

A heat wave blanketing Iran has forced authorities to cut operating hours at various facilities Saturday and order all government and commercial institutions to shutter the following day as hospitals receive over 200 people for heatstroke treatment.

The temperature ranged from 37 to 42 degrees Celsius in the capital, Tehran, according to weather reports.

State-run IRNA news agency said banks, offices, and public institutions across the country would close on Sunday to protect people’s health and conserve energy due to extreme temperatures and that only emergency services and medical agencies would be excluded.

Babak Yektaparast, spokesman for the country’s emergency department, told the semi-official Mehr news agency that 225 people had to seek medical help for heatstroke, and some had to be hospitalised.

Mehr also cited Sadegh Ziaian, an official at the National Meteorological Organization, as saying Saturday that the temperature reached over 45 degrees Celsius in 10 Iranian provinces, with the highest temperature of 49.7 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours in Delgan, the southeastern city in Sistan and Baluchistan province which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He added that a drop in temperature was expected Monday, with the heat letting up a bit, but he warned that “this does not mean that the air will cool down.”

Authorities also cut working hours on Saturday in many provinces due to the sweltering heat, IRNA reported. It added that high temperatures, over 40 degrees Celsius, have been registered in Tehran since Friday. Iranian media also warned people to stay indoors until 5 pm local time.

Authorities also said electricity consumption reached record levels of 78,106 megawatts on Tuesday as the scorching heat persisted, and people tried to stay cool.

Nournews, close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported Wednesday that Iran’s temperature is rising at twice the pace of the global temperature, which has increased by more than one degree compared to the long-term average. Meanwhile, the agency said Iran has become warmer by 2 degrees over the past 50 years.

Last year, Iran ordered a two-day nationwide holiday due to increasing temperatures.