Beehive structure on the Baghdad/Damscus road. File photo from flickr.

Record Heat in Iraq

Aug 2, 2011; 1:14 PM ET

ABOVE 50 C IN MOST OF IRAQ

Tuesday, August 2, must have been one of the hottest days, at least in the historical weather record, in the nation of Iraq. High temperatures at, or above, 50 degrees were widespread from Basra north and west to at least Samarra, including Baghdad.

Highs were approximately 51 degrees C in Baghdad, Baqubah, and Ad Diwaniyah.

Of the sites I was able to check, Tallil, near An Nasiriyah, was tops. The highest temperature reported was 52 degrees C. This would be 126 F.

Maximiliano Herrera, on his extreme temperature site, has already shown An Nasiriyah as having set a record at 52 C. He may be drawing from the same data as AccuWeather.com.

It could be that Baghdad tied the standing record high of 51 C (124 F).

Earlier heat this some apparently made the record books in Iraq and some of its neighbors.

Mr Herrera shows Ad Diwaniyah with an all-time national high of 52.3 C (126.1 F). For Amarah, the mark in this earlier heat wave was 51 C.