Temperatures in Morocco soared past 50 degrees Celsius for the first time in a heatwave. (Schematic diagram/Dazhi video)
A new wave of heat is scorching the North African country of Morocco, where the country’s meteorological directorate said today that a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius was recorded in the country for the first time since records began. Hot and dry air from the south pushed up the temperature by 5 to 13 degrees above the monthly average.
The General Directorate of Meteorology said a weather station in the southern Moroccan coastal city of Agadir recorded a new national heat record of 50.4 degrees on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported.
Morocco has experienced a series of heatwaves this summer, with record-breaking temperatures.
The Western Sahara city of Smara measured 49.9 degrees on July 13, the last record high.
“The heat wave was caused by hot, dry air entering from the south, resulting in a significant rise in temperatures, which exceeded the monthly average by 5 to 13 degrees,” the Meteorological Directorate said in a statement.
The heatwave has ignited wildfires in recent days near Tangier in the north and in Taza province further east, destroying forests, but no casualties were reported.
The European Union’s climate monitoring agency, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (Copernicus Climate Change Service), confirmed last week that July this year was the hottest month on earth on record, with an average monthly temperature of 16.63 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record in July 2019. It was also 0.33 degrees higher and 0.72 degrees higher than the July average from 1991 to 2020.
Morocco last month had its fourth warmest monthly average since 1961.
Weather forecasts show that temperatures in northern Africa are expected to drop slightly in the coming days. (Translator: He Hongru) 1120814
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2023-08-13 19:35:35
