Banks and the vast majority of public institutions remain closed in Iran today due to a heat wave that has skyrocketed energy consumption.
In Iran, banks and most public institutions remain closed today due to extreme heat. According to state media, people have been advised to stay at home or otherwise indoors between eleven o’clock and five in the evening.
Iran is currently experiencing a very scorching heat wave. According to rescue personnel, since Friday at least 225 people have had to be hospitalized due to the extreme heat. The Iranian authorities are also worried about the record energy consumption. On Thursday, the country’s electricity consumption set an all-time record of more than 79,000 megawatts.
– Banks and other public institutions are closed on Sunday to protect people’s health and save energy, a government statement carried by Iran’s official news agency IRNA said.
Rescue and health operations are not covered by the closure.
The working hours of the public sector were already halved on Saturday due to the heat and to save energy. Banks and public institutions opened their doors at six in the morning by order of the government, so that people could take care of their business before the temperature rose. The Iranian work week starts on Saturday.
The heat has taken the whole country in its suffocating embrace. In the capital, Tehran, the temperature has clearly risen above 40 degrees. According to the news agency Tasnim, the temperature in Dalgan, located in the southwestern part of the country, has been as high as 50 degrees. Since Friday, at least ten provinces of Iran have had heat of more than 45 degrees.
According to IRNA, the heat wave is predicted to continue to plague the country for the next four days, although temperatures are expected to gradually drop from Monday.
Source: AFP