Record-breaking temperatures across various regions over the past month have raised alarm among global meteorological agencies, with predictions that 2024 could become the hottest year on record.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that July was the hottest on record, while the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Observatory noted a global average temperature of 16.91°C for July 2024. Although slightly cooler than July 2023, which remains the hottest month recorded by Copernicus, the temperatures this year have still been alarmingly high.
Morocco also experienced intense heat in July, with the national average temperature exceeding the global average by 26.07 degrees Celsius. According to Hussein Youabed, a communication officer at the General Directorate of Meteorology, July 2024 was the eleventh hottest month in Morocco’s 43-year meteorological history, with temperatures 0.76°C above the norm compared to the 1991-2020 reference period.
Morocco endured two consecutive heat waves last month. The first, from July 9 to 16, saw temperatures reaching 44.5 degrees Celsius. The second, from July 22 to 25, was more severe, with temperatures peaking at 48.3 degrees Celsius in Kasbah Tadla.
Youabed attributed these extreme temperatures to the “Chergui phenomenon,” driven by the Saharan depression and hot, dry air masses moving from the Sahara Desert towards the central and southeastern regions of Morocco.
The heat wave primarily impacted the Tadla, Haouz, Rahamna, Chiadma, and Tansift plains, as well as the eastern and southeastern regions of Morocco.
Following the recent heat surge, the General Directorate of Meteorology expects a gradual decline in temperatures from Tuesday to Wednesday, though the interior, south, and southeast regions will continue to experience hot weather. Cloudy skies and scattered thunderstorms are anticipated on the eastern slopes of the High and Middle Atlas mountains.
The past week saw a new heat wave, with cities across Morocco recording extreme temperatures. Smara hit 45.3 degrees Celsius, Beni Mellal and Taza ranged between 43 and 44 degrees Celsius, and Khouribga, Zagora, Marrakech, and Ouarzazate experienced temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius.
The General Directorate of Meteorology anticipates that temperatures will gradually rise again across the Kingdom in the coming days.
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