Basra to hit 50 °C as thermal low holds through Friday

BAGHDAD — Temperatures are forecast to reach 50 °C in parts of southern Iraq on Thursday as a seasonal thermal low continues to bring sunny, intensely hot conditions across the country, the General Authority for Meteorology and Seismology said.

Daytime conditions will range from hot to extremely hot, turning relatively milder overnight and in the early morning. The thermal low is expected to hold through Friday before temperatures ease slightly early next week.

Basra is forecast to record the highest at 50 °C, followed by 49 °C in Maysan and Dhi Qar and 48 °C in Najaf and Muthanna. Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Karbala and Diwaniyah are expected to reach 47 °C, with 46 °C in Diyala, Wasit and Babil, 45 °C in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Anbar, 43 °C in Erbil, 42 °C in Duhok and 41 °C in Sulaymaniyah.

Northwesterly winds of 10 to 20 km/h are expected, strengthening in the afternoon with gusts of about 45 km/h and raising light dust in desert areas and on roads outside cities. Visibility is forecast at 8 to 10 km in most areas, falling to 5 to 7 km where dust is present.

Hot, sunny weather continues Friday, with temperatures rising slightly in central Iraq, holding near Thursday’s levels in the north and easing slightly in the south. They are expected to fall slightly in central and southern areas Saturday before rising again across much of the country Sunday.