Heatwave prompts fears of hospitals overcrowding in Iran

TEHRAN - Iranian hospitals are preparing for a large number of patients ahead of the scorching temperatures forecast this week.

A representative from the Ministry of Health urged the population to avoid the sun between 10 am and 4 pm, German news agency (dpa) quoted the ISNA news agency report on Friday.

According to the report, hospitals have seen an increase in patients with heatstroke.

The Iranian government has already closed government offices, schools and banks for two days this week due to the heatwave.

The extended weekend - Fridays are a day off in Iran - prompted around two million residents to take trips to the popular north near the Caspian Sea, according to the newspaper Shargh. Photos showed congested roads on the route through the Alborz Mountains.

Iran, with its nearly 90 million inhabitants and an area more than four times the size of Germany, has vast regions dominated by deserts.

Researchers have been warning for years about an increase in droughts in the region, which is particularly affected by the consequences of climate change.

Temperatures in the south of the country climbed above 50 degrees Celsius this week. - BERNAMA