Iraq Goes Dark After Searing Heat Wave Triggers Power Grid Failure

Iraq was plunged into darkness on Monday as searing heat pushed up power demand, triggering a failure in transmission lines that led to a near nationwide blackout.

Electricity demand jumped as temperatures in parts of the country soared to as high as 50C (122F), with millions of people joining the Arbaeen pilgrimage in the provinces of Babylon and Karbala. That caused the failure of two transmission lines, leading to the loss of 6,000 megawatts from the grid and a “complete blackout of the system,” the Ministry of Electricity said in a statement.