Homes Turn Into Ovens as Yemenis Endure Heatwave, Blackouts and Failing Power Supply

Heat settles over a country already under strain

Millions of people across Yemen are facing a severe heatwave as temperatures rise above 40C, turning daily life into a struggle for shade, sleep and electricity.

The heat is gripping southern, eastern and western regions of the country. In coastal cities, the air is hot and humid. Homes hold the heat long after sunset. Fans stop when the power fails. Nights become heavy and still.

In Mukalla, Yemen, and Aden, Yemen, residents say prolonged blackouts are disrupting daily life, damaging businesses, worsening health problems and leaving families with little relief from the heat.

The homes are becoming ovens.

The crisis is unfolding in a country already battered by more than a decade of war, economic collapse and damaged infrastructure. The electricity sector, one of the systems hit hardest by years of conflict, is again under severe pressure as summer demand rises.

Aden struggles through long blackouts

In Aden, Yemen, residents say electricity is available for only a few hours a day while temperatures approach 40C. The heat presses into walls, rooms and streets, and the blackout cycle leaves families waiting for power that may return only briefly.

Saddam Al-Jamlani, a resident of Aden, described the pattern facing many households.

Saddam Al-Jamlani: “Power was cut for eight hours and restored for only two."

He said many residents had hoped power supplies would improve during the Eid holiday on May 27, when thousands left the city to visit relatives in the countryside and many factories, workshops and businesses temporarily shut down. The expected relief did not come.

Saddam Al-Jamlani: “The electricity situation in Aden during Eid remained unchanged, with no improvement."

The heat and the blackouts are feeding frustration in a country where deteriorating living conditions have repeatedly triggered public anger. In recent years, prolonged power outages and worsening services have led to violent protests, with deaths and injuries reported.

A power crisis years in the making

Yemen has been engulfed for more than a decade in a war between the Houthis and the internationally recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia. The conflict has killed and wounded thousands, displaced millions and damaged key infrastructure, including electricity networks and power stations.

Earlier this year, after Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition pushed the UAE-supported Southern Transitional Council out of several southern provinces, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, announced an 81.2 million dollar financial package to buy more than 300 million litres of fuel from the local market. The fuel was intended to operate dozens of power stations across Yemen.

That intervention came during cooler months, when electricity demand was lower. It helped keep many power stations running around the clock, and residents in cities including Aden enjoyed near-continuous electricity for the first time in years.

Then summer arrived.

As temperatures and humidity increased, the electricity situation deteriorated again. On May 27, Saudi Arabia announced another support package worth 150 million dollars to buy fuel derivatives for power stations in government-controlled areas. Residents and business owners say the assistance has not yet produced clear improvements in many affected cities.

Nights without sleep in Mukalla

In the port city of Mukalla, Yemen, hot and humid summers are familiar. This year, the heat is colliding with long power cuts, and residents describe nights broken by sweating, mosquitoes and exhaustion.

Salah Mohammed and his wife say they sleep less than five hours a day. Both suffer from skin conditions they blame on the prolonged outages.

Salah Mohammed: “When the power goes out at night, I wash myself and use a piece of cardboard to cool down. I don’t have a battery, an air conditioner or anything else."

The hardest hours come after dark, when the air inside homes turns stagnant. If electricity has not returned by dawn, Mohammed often goes to a nearby mosque for prayers and a chance to cool off inside its air-conditioned hall.

Salah Mohammed: “If we sleep on the roof, we get bitten by mosquitoes. If we use a mosquito net, it becomes unbearably hot. My wife has pimples all over her body, and her face and legs are swollen. I also suffer from a skin condition."

Businesses lose hours, fuel and food

The heatwave is also hitting workers and traders. Severe summer blackouts have forced some businesses to close early, while others face spoiled goods, broken equipment and fewer customers as people stay indoors to avoid the heat.

At an auto repair shop in Mukalla, Yemen, Muhanad Salem said outages frequently shut down equipment. Workers either suspend operations or spend scarce money on fuel for a generator that also breaks down.

He wiped sweat from his face with a hand and part of his T-shirt, both stained with grease, as he described the pressure on the workshop.

Muhanad Salem: “Prolonged power cuts have hurt our work."

Muhanad Salem: “We only switch on the generator when it is urgently needed, and even then, it sometimes breaks down and requires maintenance."

At Mukalla’s fish market, Omer Baesa faces another problem: keeping fish fresh in the heat. Without reliable refrigeration, he buys ice from the local market every day, but losses still occur.

Omer Baesa: “I spend at least 10,000 Yemeni riyals [$6.7] a day on two bags of ice to preserve my fish for the following day, but sometimes I still find some of it rotten."

The currency pressure deepens the burden. The Yemeni riyal is trading at about 533 to the US dollar in Houthi-controlled areas, compared with about 1,500 to the dollar in government-controlled areas.

Electricity system on the brink

Yemen’s newly appointed electricity minister, Adnan al-Kaf, has blamed the collapse of power services in government-controlled areas on ageing power stations, deteriorating infrastructure, years of inadequate maintenance, delays in critical spare parts, high costs from private electricity suppliers, weak revenue collection and an inflated payroll.

His public warning was direct.

Adnan al-Kaf: “I would be lying if I told them [people] to expect a cool summer. I do not want to make empty promises."

Adnan al-Kaf: “The situation is disastrous right now, and this summer is going to be difficult."

The statement reflects the scale of the problem. Demand is climbing with the summer heat, but generation and distribution remain fragile. When electricity fails, the heat becomes more than a weather event. It becomes a public health and livelihood emergency.

Houthi-held areas face the same heat and outages

In Houthi-controlled areas, residents report similarly severe conditions. Many households now rely almost entirely on solar power because electricity from the state grid remains unavailable for long periods.

The situation has been further complicated by waves of Israeli air attacks targeting infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas, including power facilities in Sanaa, Yemen, and the western city of Hodeidah, Yemen.

Hodeidah is also known for intense heat and humidity. Residents there recently expressed anger after receiving sharply higher electricity bills despite frequent outages. Many used social media to complain.

Ali Omar, a resident of Hodeidah, posted a video saying his bill had jumped from less than 3,000 riyals, or 5.6 dollars, to 19,000 riyals, or 35.6 dollars, even though his household relies mainly on solar power during the day.

Ali Omar: “This cannot be my bill. It must belong to someone else."

Ali Omar: “How did you calculate my electricity bill at 19,000 riyals when I use solar power during the day?"

Main impacts reported across affected areas

• Temperatures above 40C across parts of Yemen
• Long power cuts in southern, eastern and western regions
• Homes overheating during day and night
• Sleep disruption and worsening health problems among residents
• Business interruptions caused by failed equipment and generator costs
• Spoiled fish and other goods due to weak refrigeration
• Public anger over electricity bills and deteriorating services
• Pressure on a power system weakened by war, poor maintenance and fuel shortages

The heat remains fixed over cities where electricity is unreliable and relief is scarce. In homes, workshops and markets, the same pattern repeats: the air grows hotter, the power drops out, and people wait for a few hours of electricity before the next blackout begins.