Rain in the north and center, dust in the west as Baghdad reaches 40°C

BAGHDAD — Scattered light to moderate rain with occasional thunder is forecast for central and northern Iraq on Thursday, while stronger winds raise dust in the west, the Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology said.

Skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy at times in the center and north and partly cloudy in the south, with a chance of light thundershowers in its western parts. Temperatures will be close to recent days, warm during the day and cool at night.

Baghdad is forecast at 40°C with a low of 27°C. Diyala, Karbala, Babil, Wasit and Diwaniyah will also reach 40°C, Najaf and Salah al-Din 39°C, Kirkuk 37°C, Anbar 36°C and Nineveh 35°C, with rain in Nineveh and Salah al-Din. Erbil is expected at 33°C with a low of 24°C and Duhok 30°C with a low of 23°C, both with rain, and Sulaymaniyah 31°C with a low of 16°C.

Southeasterly winds will be light to moderate at 10 to 20 km/h, rising to 35 km/h in the west and raising dust, particularly in open desert, before easing to 5 to 10 km/h at night. Visibility will be 8 to 10 km, falling to 5 to 7 km in dust and thunderstorms.