猛暑で２日間休日に　イラン

【テヘランＡＦＰ＝時事】イラン政府は１日、猛暑を受け、全土の公務員と銀行員を対象に、２日と３日を休日にすると発表した。国営メディアが報じた。（写真はイランの首都テヘランで、水を飲む男性）
　気象当局は、多くの都市で気温が４０度を超え、南西部では５０度前後まで上昇すると予報している。
　国営イラン放送（ＩＲＩＢ）によると、イーラーム、ブシェール、フーゼスタン各州などの多くの都市でここ数日間も４５度を超える気温が観測された。
　国営イラン通信によると、政府報道官は「内閣は国民の健康を守るため、水曜日（２日）と木曜日（３日）を全土で休日にするという保健・医療教育省の提案に同意した」と述べた。全国的な「前例のない」熱波を受けての措置だという。
　ＩＲＩＢによると、西部デフロラーンでは、過去２４時間の国内最高気温となる５０度を観測。アルダビールやカスピ海沿岸地域などの北部でも気温は上昇する見込み。
　保健・医療教育省は、熱中症に注意し、午前１０時～午後４時の外出を控えるよう呼び掛けている。同省の報道官はここ数日の熱中症患者数について「憂慮すべき」だとコメントした。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/08/02-17:14）

Iran on Tuesday declared a two-day holiday for government workers and banks nationwide as searing temperatures sweep across the country, state media reported.
The decision came after the meteorological office forecast temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many cities, and hovering around 50 degrees Celsius in the southwest.
State broadcaster IRIB has said many cities including in the provinces of Ilam, Bushehr, and Khuzestan have seen temperatures rise above 45 degrees Celsius in recent days.
The cabinet agreed to the health ministry proposal to declare Wednesday and Thursday public holidays all over the country to protect public health, the official IRNA news agency quoted government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi as saying.
IRNA said the decision was taken because of what it described as an unprecedented heatwave across the country.
According to IRIB, Dehloran city in western Iran recorded the highest temperature of 50 degrees Celsius in Iran over the past 24 hours.
It added that temperatures were expected to rise in the north as well, including in the city of Ardabil as well as at the southern shores of the Caspian sea.
The health ministry has warned of the risks of heatstroke from over-exposure to the sun, and urged people to stay indoors between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Health ministry spokesman Pedram Pakain described the number of heat-related illnesses in recent days as alarming.
In June, Iran changed summer working hours for government employees who now start earlier, in order to save electricity in offices when temperatures peak.
The southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan has been among the hardest hit by the heatwave.
Around 1,000 people have received hospital treatment there in recent days because of rising temperatures and dust storms, IRNA said.
The region has long faced severe water shortages, which triggered protests on Monday over an upstream dam in neighbouring Afghanistan restricting water flow, the Tasnim news agency said.
Iran, with a population of more than 85 million, is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change and the rise in global temperatures.
Like nearby countries, it has suffered extreme dry spells and heatwaves for years, which are expected to worsen as climate change continues.
It has also endured repeated droughts as well as regular flooding, a phenomenon made worse when torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth.