by Murad Abdo
ADEN, Yemen, July 6 (Xinhua) -- When electricity flickers on in Saleh Saeed's home in Yemen's Aden, his children rush to gather around rechargeable fans.
For four to six hours daily -- if they are lucky -- the fans offer them fleeting relief in a city where temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius and blackouts stretch up to 20 hours.
"We only switch them on at night so the children can sleep," the 42-year-old father of five told Xinhua. "Without them, it's unbearable -- the children cry throughout the night because of the heat, and we barely get any sleep."
Across Aden, survival hinges on such small victories. Families limit themselves to a single meal a day to prevent spoilage, while post-surgery patients rent hotel rooms to access air-conditioned relief.
Um Ahmed, 50, winced as she navigated a hotel lobby days after her spinal surgery. "The doctors told me I need to stay cool and clean for at least 12 days ... But how can a family like mine afford hotel rooms when we can barely pay for medicine?"
Public spaces have become sanctuaries. Hamzah Ali, 25, frequents malls "not for shopping but for enjoying short hours of cold air." Others line the coast and the streets in search of breeze.
Widespread power shortages have fueled a surge in solar energy use. In the Sheikh Othman district, solar energy facility retailer Mohamed Hani said sales have doubled in recent weeks as families "are buying whatever they can afford, from full solar systems to just a battery and small panel for lighting."
In the Al-Mansourah district, 39-year-old private company employee Samah Nasser invested her life savings of 2,000 U.S. dollars in a rooftop solar system.
"It changed our lives," Nasser said, watching her small solar panel powering three fans, light bulbs, and a refrigerator. "We no longer have to wait and wonder when electricity will come."
For Mohamed bin Hassan and many others in Aden's low-income neighborhoods, the high cost of solar energy leaves them no choice but to "sit in the dark most of the time."
Hassan, a father of five, said his family could only afford a small 12-volt battery to power their phones and a single fan.
Chronic fuel shortages and deteriorating infrastructure caused by years of conflict in Yemen have crippled the public electricity network in Aden, which now produces only 53 megawatts -- less than eight percent of summer demand.
In early June, the General Electricity Corporation in Aden issued warnings on fuel depletion at key generation stations, yet residents said no emergency measures have been taken to address the crisis.
"No solution looms on the horizon. The crisis is complicated -- citizens don't pay bills for years, and the old power stations drain the government budget," an electricity corporation official spoke anonymously, attributing the crisis to a lack of financial support in the fight against the Houthis.
Health workers warn of rising medical cases. "The prolonged power cuts pose serious risks during the summer months, particularly for the elderly," said Rasha Waleed, a nurse at a clinic in Al-Mansourah.
"The hardest part is not knowing when the electricity crisis will come to an end," said Saeed. Enditem
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