BAGHDAD (AP) — It’s a 15-minute walk through a lush palm grove from Baghdad’s al-Takia refugee camp to the nearest well, but as temperatures hovered around 126 degrees on Thursday, Zakiyah Abdullah, who is eight months pregnant, said it felt like an eternity.
Scorching temperatures are normal this time of year, but an unprecedented heat wave prompted Iraqi authorities to declare a mandatory four-day holiday beginning Thursday.
The government has urged residents to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water, but for Abdullah and many of the more than 3 million Iraqis displaced by conflict, that poses a dilemma.