Inside blistering hot city forced to shut down completely in extreme heatwave

A capital in the Middle East has been forced to shut down for a day due to a sweltering heatwave, and residents have been issued an urgent warning to stay indoors.

Tehran, the capital and largest city of Iran, will shut down on Wednesday as temperatures exceed 40C (104F). Local news reports that all government offices, banks, and businesses in Tehran will be closed due to the scorching heatwave and the need to conserve energy.

As the capital shuts down for the day, the government has advised local residents to stay indoors during the peak hours of theblistering heat.Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani has also urged citizens to reduce their electricity and water consumption, as news publication IRAN daily reports.

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This isn't the first time Iran has issued a major shutdown. Back in July 2024, the Middle Eastern country introduced an extra national holiday due to high temperatures, which followed a two-day break the previous year.

Meanwhile, Kuwait City, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, is known as one of the hottest places in the world. The scorching heat in the Capital of Kuwait is causing chaos for both humans and wildlife as it continues to face the realities of climate change.

The Middle Eastern metropolis has become a clear indicator of the harrowing effects of climate change, with birds dropping dead from the scorching heavens and fish boiling in the water.

Back in the halcyon days, Kuwait City thrived as a bustling hub with a flourishing fishing industry and idyllic beaches that lured in basking holidaymakers. But now, it's gripped by an overwhelming problem of potentially uninhabitable temperatures.

A staggering 54C (129F) was recorded on 21 July 2016 at Mitribah weather station, placing Kuwait third in the solar frying stakes with one of the globe's most torrid temperatures. Even Europe's former Cerberus Heatwave pales in comparison, trailing behind Kuwait's zenith by a whole 10C.

An ominous forecast looms as climate experts project that this desert country may blaze ahead with a temperature increase of up to 5.5C (10F) by century's end relative to figures from the early 2000s. In 2023, the mercury spiked past 50C (122F) on nineteen occasions, a tally that's feared might just be a starting point.

With temperatures soaring to a life-threatening 50C, which is a staggering 13C above human body temperature, the risks of heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and cardiac complications escalate dramatically.