Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey hit by crippling power outages as extreme heat broiling region

Scorching heatwaves hitting the West Asia region have triggered extensive and rolling power outages across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey.

The past few days have witnessed widespread blackouts across the three nations, with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius in some areas.

The outages were experienced across various spots throughout the Saudi kingdom, most notably the capital Riyadh, where the neighborhoods of Hittin, al-Nakheel, al-Aqeeq, and al-Ghadeer slipped into darkness.

Saudi authorities have described the weather conditions governing the country as “extremely hot and exhausting.”

Explaining the reason behind the outages in the capital, however, the Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority alleged that the power went out after a contractor “damaged a main power line.”

In Kuwait, temperatures even surpassed the 50°C mark, approaching the country’s historical record of 53.5 degrees.

The government urged citizens to conserve electricity to avert power grid overloads, which could lead to more blackouts.

The past week in Turkey, meanwhile, saw the country’s daily electricity consumption rate reaching a record high of 1.16 million megawatt-hours, according to figures released by the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation.

The country’s authorities blamed the heavy use of air conditioners and the increase in agricultural irrigation processes.

Officials warned of long-running power outage in Istanbul on Friday, but alleged that this was due to the “maintenance and repair work” that was being carried out in various districts throughout the economic epicenter.