The scorching temperature reading in Iran’s Ahvaz was brought about by a dome of heat centred over the Middle East.
The excessively hot air over Ahvaz, a city of 1.1 million people, felt even more stifling due to high humidity. As the temperature climbed over 49C, the dew point, a measure of humidity, peaked in the low 70s; a high level for the desert location (due to air flow from the Persian Gulf, to the south).
The heat index – a measure of how hot it feels factoring in the humidity – exceeded 60C. This combination of heat and humidity was so extreme that it was beyond levels the heat index was designed to compute.
People in Ahvaz have been advised by the Iranian authorities to stay at home unless they have to go outside.
Here are Mizan’s photos of the extreme heat and the people facing it:
