Summer heat, humidity lead to long power outages in Yemeni city

Persistent high temperatures and humidity this summer has caused prolonged power outages in Aden, a port city in southern Yemen, posing serious challenges to the city's economic operations and public services.

Affected by climate change, the hot and humid weather in Aden during the summer has become increasingly severe in recent years, and the lack of power supply has made life more difficult for residents.

Local resident Mohammed Adel said the power outage completely disrupted his family's life, leaving the children in unbearable heat at nights.

"We are residents of Aden. Due to geographical reasons, the humidity here is extremely high, making electricity essential for us. However, Aden currently has almost no electricity, or rather, the power supply almost does not exist. We suffer from approximately 20 hours of power outages every day. The hot and humid weather makes it impossible for us to live normally, and we can't even provide our children with any relief from the heat," said Adel.

The power crisis is not only affecting residents' daily lives but also impacting the local economy. Continuous power outages are disrupting business operations, driving up operating costs for merchants. Meanwhile, hospitals and medical institutions are maintaining basic operations relying on backup power, placing ongoing pressure on urban public services.

The persistent power outages have also sparked public discontent, with many people taking to the streets in protest.

"Every summer we suffer from power crisis. We pay our electricity bills on time, but we still have no power. How can anyone tolerate this? It's the same situation in winter, but even worse in summer -- almost no power at all. Because of the power outages, all the ice cream in the refrigerator melts. We have to use generators, burning five or six barrels of diesel every day, which is extremely costly. This is unreasonable. Every month we have to pay electricity bills and also spend 1.5 to 2 million Yemeni riyals (around 6,300-8,400 U.S. dollars) on diesel," said Hatem Bahakim, a local merchant who runs a store.

In recent years, the Yemeni government has taken a series of measures, including internal governance and external assistance, to improve the power supply situation, but the overall power supply capacity still falls short of actual demand. Aging infrastructure, inadequate equipment maintenance, and a lack of long-term strategic planning all constrain the stable operation of the power system in the country.

Summer heat, humidity lead to long power outages in Yemeni city

The devastating earthquakes that hit Venezuela in late June have dealt a heavy blow to production and jobs across the region, with the hardest-hit areas now facing a recovery effort that is expected to be long and grueling.

Local authorities in La Guaira state, the hardest-hit region of the country, are now ramping up rebuilding efforts while rolling out a series of economic measures to get the regional economy back on track.

At a fishing port in the town of Caraballeda, some 150 fishermen were working before the quakes hit. The area also housed fish product shops and a seafood processing plant that provided jobs for local women. The earthquakes directly affected about 200 families in the area -- bringing casualties, damaged homes, and wrecked workplaces that sustained their livelihoods.

"This disaster is affecting every Venezuelan right now. We can't go out to fish -- there's simply no fuel. Buildings are down, and so many of my fellow fishermen have lost their boats. We're now trying to repair what we can, holding on to whatever little we have left," said Jimmy Rangel, a local fisherman.

Local authorities have stepped in to help fishermen restore their means of production and return to sea as soon as possible.

What's happening at this port is a microcosm of the broader economic crisis unfolding behind Venezuela's recent earthquakes, and the impact of this disaster is likely to linger for a long time.

Across La Guaira state, shopping centers, small businesses, supermarkets, and tourism-related industries have suffered varying degrees of damage and are expected to feel the effects for some time to come.

To protect quake-affected communities and drive economic recovery, the Venezuelan government has announced a package of policy measures covering banking, financial markets, construction, small and micro enterprises, the oil and gas sector, and the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Venezuela faces daunting task of post-quake economic recovery