Baghdad, July 19 (IANS) A blistering heat wave is expected to hit Iraq in the coming weeks, with temperatures likely to surpass 50 degrees Celsius, a weather observatory said in its forecast.

"Temperatures will peak at 52 degrees Celsius in the last week of July and the first week of August," the Green Iraq observatory said in its forecase.

According to the observatory, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Iraq was 53.6 degrees Celsius in the southern province of Basra in July 2016, reports Xinhua news agency.

As stated by Iraqi law, when temperatures reach 50 degrees, the government grants holidays to its institutions, excluding the security forces and medical services.