Authorities in Iran have announced that Banks, government institutions and financial markets will be closed on Sunday as the country endures scorching temperatures.
A statement from the Iranian government’s public relations office stated “With the continued extreme, rarely seen extreme heat, and to preserve citizens’ health and manage energy usage, all government centers and banks across the country, excluding emergency services, will be closed”.
Separate declarations confirmed that the financial markets would be closed, and some scheduled exams would be cancelled.
Temperatures in Tehran province reached 43 degrees Celsius in the last two days, according to Iran’s news agency.
On Saturday morning, state institutions shuttered at 10 a.m. to conserve energy.
Such temperatures are common in southern Iran, which borders the Gulf, but uncommon in Tehran, which is much further north.
In Isfahan in central Iran, temperatures reached 41 degrees on Saturday.
The high temperatures have spurred demand for cooling. Iran has traditionally needed most gas for electricity production in winter, but the extreme heat is now leading to high demand in summer too.
Iran produces most of its electricity through burning natural gas from its vast reserves. Consumption has reached 78,000 megawatts per hour, according to Kambiz Nazerian, head of Tehran’s electricity distribution company, quoted by Iranian media.
Electricity demand increased by more than 120 per cent between 2000 and 2021, with most energy consumed by homes and industry, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Cheap fees, illegal uses of electricity like illegal cryptocurrency mining and losses in the grid,” are the main reasons for high consumption, an Iranian energy sector official told The National.
In the past, the country has justified reductions in gas exports to Iraq, which it supplies with gas for power production via two pipelines, because of the need for domestic electricity generation.
Iran has been hit by the effects of climate change in recent years, with high temperatures accompanied by drought and water shortages.
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