Morocco suffered a sixth consecutive year of drought and record heat this winter (file)
Rabat:
A heat wave in Morocco killed at least 21 people in a 24-hour period in the central town of Beni Mellal, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday.
The meteorology department said rising temperatures affected much of the North African country from Monday to Wednesday, reaching 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in some areas.
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,” the regional health directorate said in a statement.
Morocco suffered the sixth consecutive year of drought and record heat this winter, with the month of January being the hottest in the country since 1940, according to the meteorology department, which recorded temperatures close to 37ºC in some places.
Rising temperatures and prolonged drought, which have lowered reservoir levels, are a threat to the vital agricultural sector.
Water evaporation reached 1.5 million cubic meters per day, Water Minister Nizar Baraka said in late June.
Morocco’s record temperature – 50.4ºC – was set in August last year in Agadir, in the south of the country.
Scientists have linked climate change to longer, stronger and more frequent extreme weather, including heat waves.
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