Aden, Oct 06 (V7N)- Prolonged power outages have become part of daily life in Yemen’s port city of Aden, forcing residents to endure long hours without electricity amid intense heat and humidity.
When the electricity goes out, fans and air conditioners stop working, making it difficult for families to sleep or remain indoors. Students often try to complete their studies and household tasks before darkness falls.
Children frequently leave their homes to escape the heat, while many young people head toward the coast in search of cooler air. Families also gather along the beach in the evening, with some entering the water while others sit near the shoreline.
The electricity shortage has an even more serious impact on hospitals. Medical facilities require continuous power for surgeries, emergency treatment and equipment needed to care for critically ill patients. Power interruptions therefore pose an additional challenge to an already strained health system.
Yemen's electricity crisis predates the current conflict. Even before the war, only about 55 percent of the country's population had access to electricity from all sources, one of the lowest rates in the Middle East and North Africa.
Since 2015, damage to infrastructure, fuel shortages and aging electricity-generation and distribution systems have further weakened the country's power sector.
Aden's power plants continue to experience repeated shutdowns, leaving residents without electricity for extended periods. Rising insurance costs for fuel tankers supplying Aden have also reportedly added pressure to the city's electricity system.
An International Monetary Fund assessment published this year said Aden was receiving electricity for only around two to six hours a day because of structural weaknesses and fuel shortages.
As evening approaches, homes and businesses across parts of Aden are frequently plunged into darkness. For some residents, batteries and small solar-powered lamps provide the only available sources of light.
The outages are particularly difficult during the summer, when temperatures in Aden can reach around 40 degrees Celsius. Residents say the heat often remains oppressive even after sunset, making their homes difficult to live in without fans or air conditioning.
One resident described how families have become dependent on unpredictable electricity schedules, saying they sometimes wake during the night when power returns so they can make use of the limited supply.
The outages also affect food storage and daily household activities, with refrigerators unable to operate continuously and food at risk of spoiling.
For many residents, the city's beaches have become an important refuge from the heat at the end of the day. Yet the gatherings along the coast offer only temporary relief from an electricity crisis that continues to disrupt everyday life in Aden.
END/SMA/AJ
