Iraq forecast sees fog, cold mornings, rain later this week

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s weather on Monday will be mostly clear to partly cloudy, with fog expected at night and early morning hours in several areas, according to the General Authority for Meteorology and Seismology.

In its daily bulletin issued by the Ministry of Transport, the authority said that “some clouds will appear in the atmosphere at intervals, turning partly cloudy during the evening and night,” adding that “waves of dense fog will prevail in some scattered locations of the northern region during the morning hours, gradually dissipating as daytime advances.”

Temperatures will be “close to those recorded the previous day, with a slight rise in some areas,” while conditions will remain “cold during the daytime in most regions and very cold during the early morning and night.”

Winds are expected to be “northwesterly, light to moderate in speed, ranging between 10 and 20 kilometers per hour,” becoming “variable in direction during the night hours, with speeds between 5 and 10 kilometers per hour, accompanied at times by calm conditions.”

Horizontal visibility will range between “8 and 10 kilometers,” dropping to “between 5 and 7 kilometers due to fog formation,” and in fog-affected areas visibility may fall to “less than 1 kilometer before gradually improving.”

For the coming days, the authority said weather conditions will remain “partly cloudy across central, southern and northern regions” on Tuesday, with “rainfall of moderate intensity at times in the northern region,” and an increase in cloud cover. Winds will remain light to moderate, while temperatures are expected to “rise slightly.”

On Wednesday, conditions are forecast to be “partly cloudy in central and southern regions and cloudy in the northern region,” with “moderate rainfall” expected in the north. Temperatures will “drop by a few degrees across the country.”

By Thursday, weather is expected to be “cloudy nationwide, with moderate rainfall in the northern region and snowfall over mountainous areas,” while temperatures will be “close to those recorded the previous day.”

The authority also released comparative maximum temperature forecasts for selected Arab and international capitals, showing highs of 21 degrees Celsius in Beirut, 22 in Doha and Abu Dhabi, 24 in Cairo, and 14 in Tunis, while European cities such as London and Washington are expected to record highs of about 7 degrees Celsius.