Morocco: deadly heatwave claims 21 lives
The Moroccan Heath Ministry announced that at least 21 people had been killed within a 24-hour period in the central city of Beni Mellal on July 25th, reports Asharq al-Awsat and Arab News.
According to the meteorology department, certain parts of the North African country were reported to have reached temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius from the 22nd to the 24th of July.
In Beni Mellal, “the majority of deaths involved people suffering from chronic illnesses and the elderly, with high temperatures contributing to the deterioration of their health conditions,” according to a statement released by the regional health directorate.
The health ministry was unable to confirm if this was the highest recorded death toll caused by a heatwave in Morocco.
Beni Mellal, situated over 200 kilometres southeast of Casablanca, continued to face scorching temperatures, facing 43 degrees on July 25th.
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The meteorology department has stated that temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days, with tourist hotspots like Marrakech facing a drop in temperature of 10 degrees on July 28th.
Morocco now faces its sixth consecutive year of drought, which has lowered reservoir levels and threatened the vital agricultural sector. The record heat continued into the winter, with temperatures hitting 37 degrees in some places, the hottest since 1940, according to the meteorology department.
Water Minister Nizar Baraka stated in late June that approximately 1.5 million cubic metres (53 million cubic feet) of water is evaporated per day.
The devastating heatwave also led to job opportunities drying up across Morocco, with the labour market continuing to suffer as a result of the drought, according to the High Commission for Planning. The department reported that the unemployment rate stood at 13.7% in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 0.8% from the same period last year.
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Figures have shown that 159,000 jobs have vanished in the agricultural sector.
The highest temperature on record in Morocco was 50.4 °C in the coastal resort city of Agadir in August last year.
July 22nd was observed as the hottest day around the world since measurements began in 1940, reported the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation program.
Daily temperature records are predicted to be broken this summer in the northern hemisphere, with the entire planet expected to endure an extensive period of intense heat due to climate change.
Climate change has resulted in long shifts in temperatures and weather patterns that can increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves.
Arab News / Asharq al-Awsat and agencies
