Iraq’s power cuts show privilege of staying cool in a heatwave
Jul 6, 2021
No strangers to temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), Iraqis are adept at finding ways to stay cool in summer. But a spate of recent power cuts has exposed a deep divide between the heatwave haves and have-nots.
Government employee Sadiq Sadkan pays about $200 per month to access a generator supplying his middle-class neighbourhood during blackouts, which worsen amid surging summer demand.
People who could not afford to pay for an expensive diesel-fuelled generator or flee Baghdad for the mountains sought refuge with relatives who live in better-served neighbourhoods. Lucky if you have relatives or people to go to, but what about people that don’t have anybody?
