Morocco forecast to record temperatures of up to 46 C in coming days

Hot weather is expected to continue across Morocco in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, the General Directorate of Meteorology said Thursday.

Houssine Youabed, the directorate’s communications official, said relatively hot to hot conditions would persist, particularly in inland areas, the eastern region, the southeast and inland parts of the southern provinces.

Maximum temperatures are expected to range from 40 C to 46 C in the southeast, eastern Morocco and eastern and southern parts of the southern provinces. Temperatures near the coast and in the Atlas Mountains are expected to remain lower, ranging from 24 C to 28 C.

Temperatures of between 32 C and 38 C are forecast in the Saiss plain, the Moulouya Valley, the phosphate plateaus, Oulmès, the Tadla and Rhamna plains, inland Souss and northwestern parts of the southern provinces.

Elsewhere, temperatures are expected to range from 28 C to 32 C.

Youabed said temperatures could gradually rise again in several parts of Morocco in the middle of next week, while relatively high temperatures are expected to persist in the southeast and inland southern provinces.

The weather conditions are mainly linked to the continued influence of a Saharan thermal low, which is pushing hot air masses from desert areas toward southern and eastern Morocco, raising temperatures particularly in inland regions, he said.

At higher altitudes, however, relatively cooler air is contributing to atmospheric instability, increasing the possibility of localized thunderstorms, particularly over the Rif and Atlas mountain ranges, the eastern region and the southeast during the afternoon.

Despite the high temperatures, Youabed said the conditions do not necessarily signal the return of a nationwide heat wave.

Instead, he described the situation as part of normal late-summer weather fluctuations, with heat remaining more pronounced in inland and southern areas while temperatures gradually moderate elsewhere.