‘Homes turned into ovens’: Millions of Yemenis swelter amid heat, blackouts

Mukalla, Yemen – Yemen is sweltering under a heatwave as temperatures soar above a blistering 40C (104F), turning houses into ovens. Long power cuts have added to the suffering of millions of people across the war-torn nation.

With authorities struggling to boost power supply, people have nowhere to escape from the hot and humid weather gripping much of the country’s southern, eastern and western regions, further compounding the humanitarian crisis in the most impoverished Arab nation.

Residents of coastal cities such as Mukalla and Aden, under the control of the internationally recognised government, say prolonged blackouts are hurting businesses, disrupting daily life, robbing people of sleep and aggravating health problems.

“Power was cut for eight hours and restored for only two,” Saddam Al-Jamlani, a resident of Aden, told Al Jazeera.

There is no respite from the heat and frequent blackouts in the northern part of the country under the Iran-backed Houthis either.

The growing frustration has also rekindled fears of unrest in a country still struggling to recover from more than a decade of conflict that has battered nearly every aspect of life.

In Aden, residents say electricity is available for only a few hours a day as temperatures approach 40C. Many describe their homes as ovens, with little respite from the heat and humidity.

Al-Jamlani said he and many others had hoped electricity supplies would improve during the Eid holiday (May 27), when thousands of residents left the city to visit relatives in the countryside, and many factories, workshops and businesses temporarily shut down. However, power cuts continued unabated, he said.