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Iraq, Known for Hot Summer, Suffering a Scorcher

Agence France-Presse

   NASIRIYAH, IRAQ - Hospital ventilators shut down, football matches with
   obligatory water breaks and food spoiling in fridges without power:
   Iraq's notorious summer has arrived.

   As one of the hottest countries in the world with around half of its
   terrain covered in desert, Iraq is no stranger to stiflingly hot
   summers.

   But even by its own standards, this June has been a sizzler --
   averaging a daily 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit), compared with
   around 40 in previous years.

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