Zeina Ahmed undergoes a dialysis session at a hospital in Aden. For kidney patients like her, repeated power cuts add another layer of uncertainty to treatment that depends on a continuous electricity supply
Kidney patient Zeina Ahmed undergoes dialysis at a hospital in Aden, where repeated power cuts add uncertainty to treatment that depends on continuous electricity. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Published On 5 Oct 2026

Aden, Yemen – In this coastal city long accustomed to sweltering, humid summers, the absence of electricity can reshape an entire day.

When the power cuts out, fans and air conditioners fall silent. Sleep becomes difficult. Students race to finish their homework before darkness arrives. Children spill onto the streets while young men drift towards the sea in search of moving air and cooler waters.

Inside hospitals, where treatment cannot be postponed until the lights come back on, electricity carries a different weight altogether.

Yemen’s power crisis predates the current war. Even before the conflict, only about 55 percent of the population had access to electricity from all sources, which is among the lowest rates in the Middle East and North Africa.

Since 2015, damage to infrastructure, fuel shortages and ageing generation and distribution systems have left supplies even more fragile.

In Aden, power stations continue to face repeated shutdowns, leaving residents without electricity for long periods. Insurance premium increases on tankers carrying fuel to Aden have also reportedly made the crisis worse.

 

A man walks beneath a web of power lines in a neighborhood in Aden, Yemen. Long and frequent electricity cuts have become part of daily life for residents across the city. Photo: Belal Khaled
A man walks beneath a web of power lines in a neighbourhood in Aden, where long and frequent power cuts have become part of daily life. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]

An assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published this year said Aden was receiving just two to six hours of electricity a day as structural weaknesses and fuel shortages caused frequent outages.

As the sun sets over the city, a second part of the day begins. Homes and businesses slip into darkness, punctuated only by small lights powered by batteries and solar systems. Residents often do not know how long the latest blackout will last, or how long the power will stay on once it comes back.

During the summer, when temperatures in Aden climb towards 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the consequences are hard to escape. Residents in the city interviewed in the middle of the year said their homes had become almost unbearable during the prolonged power cuts that plague the city. The heat does not always disappear when the sun goes down.

As the sun sets over Aden, parts of the city begin to fall into darkness, with only scattered lights powered by batteries or alternative energy systems. Residents often do not know how long an outage will last or when power will return. Photo: Belal Khaled
After the sun sets in Aden, most of the city falls into darkness with only scattered lights coming from devices powered by batteries or alternative energy systems. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]

“Sometimes the power comes back while we are asleep, so we wake up to use it. Our lives have become tied to when electricity comes and goes,” one resident said. For her family, an outage is measured not just in hours but in problems. Children are unable to sleep, food spoils in warm refrigerators and housework must wait.

When the heat inside becomes too much, Youssef heads for the coast. The sea, he said, is no longer just a place of recreation but a refuge from the unbearable heat of the city.

“When the electricity is off for hours, it is very difficult to stay inside,” he said. “There is no fan and no air conditioning, and the humidity makes the heat worse, so we come to the sea.”

Towards the end of the day, young men and families gather along the waterfront. Some swim. Others simply sit beside the water and wait for the city to cool. But the sea cannot solve Aden’s electricity crisis. Hours later, Youssef returns home and sometimes finds the house exactly as he left it.

“Sometimes we get back and the power is still out, and we start waiting all over again,” he said.

For children like Mohammed, Saeed and Abdullah, blackouts have changed where childhood takes place. When their homes become too hot, they move into the street, running between houses or sitting with other children until late.

A child walks through a neighborhood in Aden during the day. A generation of children in the city has grown up knowing electricity as something that comes and goes, rather than as a constant part of daily life. Photo: Belal Khaled
A child walks through a neighbourhood in Aden, where a generation has grown up knowing electricity as something that comes and goes rather than being a constant part of daily life. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]

“It gets hot inside the house, so we come down and play in the street,” one of the boys said. “We play football or sit with our friends. Outside is better when the electricity is off.”

For them, a blackout is not an extraordinary event. It is part of the life they have grown up with.

The effects follow them into the classroom. In Aden, the United Nations Development Programme documented more than 7,000 students and teachers struggling in dark, stifling classrooms during power cuts. The installation of solar systems at eight schools and an education office has helped. One teacher reported that some students had fainted due to the heat.

At home, preparing for exams can depend on a rechargeable lamp or a small solar system if they have one.

In hospitals, there is no option but to simply wait out the darkness. Operating theatres, intensive care units, laboratories, medical refrigerators and dialysis machines all depend on continuous power.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says recurring power cuts disrupt lifesaving health services across Yemen, forcing facilities to rely on combinations of grid electricity, generators and solar systems.

In 2025, the WHO supplied about 4.33 million litres (1.14 million gallons) of fuel to 177 health facilities across the country to keep generators and essential equipment running.

A medical incubator inside a hospital in Aden. In health facilities, electricity cuts affect far more than lighting, as operating rooms, intensive care units, incubators, laboratories and medical equipment depend on a continuous power supply. Photo: Belal Khaled
An incubator inside a hospital in Aden. At health facilities, power cuts disrupt operating rooms, intensive care units, incubators, laboratories and vital equipment that depend on continuous electricity. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]

Zeina Ahmed, a kidney patient, watches tubes carry her blood to a dialysis machine.

“For people at home, a power cut means heat and darkness. For us here, the first thing we think about is whether we will be able to have our dialysis or not,” she said.

“I come to the hospital knowing that I need this session. If it is delayed, I keep thinking about when I will get it and whether the machines will continue to work.”

After years of unreliable grid supply, solar panels, batteries and generators have become familiar parts of Yemen’s landscape.

They sit on rooftops, providing power to the homes, businesses and schools that can afford them.

More than half of Yemen’s homes now rely on solar power in some form, according to the WHO, while hospitals and other health facilities are increasingly adopting solar systems to keep essential services running.

Families who can afford to buy larger panels and batteries can power more appliances. Others might have just enough electricity for a light, a fan or a phone charger – a fragile shield against the dark and the heat.

A battery, cables and electrical devices inside a home in Aden, part of the improvised solutions families use to cope with repeated power cuts. For Ghalia Suleiman’s family, the hours when electricity returns are used to charge devices and complete household tasks before the next outage.
A battery, cables and electrical devices inside a home in Aden form part of the improvised systems families use to cope with repeated power cuts. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Residents gather along the coast in Aden at the end of the day. For some, the sea has become a temporary escape from overheated homes during long electricity cuts. Photo: Belal Khaled
Residents gather along the coast in Aden at the end of the day, using the sea as a temporary escape from overheated homes during long power cuts. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
A resident walks through a dimly lit alley in Aden at night. During prolonged outages, light from shops, batteries and small alternative power sources becomes one of the few sources of illumination in some neighborhoods.
A resident walks through a dark alley in Aden where shops, batteries and small alternative power sources provide the only light during prolonged outages. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Children play billiards on a table set up along a street in Aden at night. For Mohammed, Saeed and Abdullah, the street has become an important space for play and social life when heat and power cuts make staying indoors difficult.
Children play billiards on a table set up along a street in Aden. For Mohammed, Saeed and Abdullah, the street has become a key space for play and a social life when heat and power cuts make staying indoors difficult. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
An air-conditioning unit hangs outside a residential building in Aden. During the summer months, high temperatures and humidity make prolonged electricity cuts especially difficult inside homes.
An air-conditioning unit hangs outside a residential building in Aden, where high summer temperatures and humidity make prolonged power cuts especially difficult inside homes. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Solar panels in Aden, one of the alternatives increasingly used as the public electricity supply has become less reliable. Homes, schools and hospitals rely on solar systems, batteries and generators for basic needs, though access to these alternatives varies widely.
Solar panels are one of the alternatives increasingly used as the public electricity supply has become less reliable, and homes, schools and hospitals rely on solar systems, batteries and generators for basic needs, although access to these alternatives varies widely. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
A student carrying a school bag walks through a neighborhood in Aden. Electricity cuts affect education both in overheated classrooms and at home, where studying after dark can depend on rechargeable lamps or small solar systems.
A student walks through a neighbourhood in Aden, where electricity cuts affect education in overheated classrooms and at home, where studying after dark often depends on rechargeable lamps or small solar systems. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Children sit in darkness, their faces lit by a small screen. During power cuts, some families rely on phones, rechargeable lamps or small solar systems for light at night. Photo: Belal Khaled
Children sit in darkness, their faces lit by a small screen, as families rely on phones, rechargeable lamps or small solar systems for light during night-time power cuts. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
Two children stand beneath electricity lines in a neighborhood in Aden. During long outages, the heat inside homes pushes many children to spend more time outdoors, while families wait for power to return so they can use fans and sleep.
Two children stand beneath overhead electricity lines in a neighbourhood in Aden, where long outages and stifling heat push many children outdoors while families wait for power to return so they can use fans and sleep. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
A young man rests near the sea at night, using his phone in Aden. Some residents spend hours along the coast waiting for temperatures to ease or for electricity to return to their homes. Photo: Belal Khaled
A young man rests by the sea and uses his phone in Aden, where residents spend hours along the coast waiting for the heat to ease or for electricity to return to their homes. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]
A single light illuminates part of a building in Aden at night while the surrounding area remains dark. After years of repeated electricity cuts, limited pockets of light have become a familiar part of the city’s nightscape.
A single light illuminates part of a building in Aden as limited pockets of light have become a familiar part of the city's nightscape after years of repeated power cuts. [Belal Khaled/Al Jazeera]