Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology (DMN) has explained the causes behind the scorching and rising temperatures that led to wild heat waves across the country.
The heatwave that covered the period from August 7-13 marked a “chergui” or “sharqi” type heatwave — a condition where a continent’s easterly or south-easterly wind reaches other regions.
The rising temperatures were due to the rise of a mass of dry and hot air from the south causing a significant increase in temperatures, exceeding the monthly normal by 5 to 13 degrees Celsius.
The weather was particularly marked on Friday, August 11, and Saturday, August 12, the office said.
“This chergui was characterized this time by a strong easterly wind from the great Sahara towards Morocco,” the office said, explaining that the Saharan weather experienced a further increase in terms of heat after going through the chain of the High and the Anti-Atlas.
“This significant increase in temperature was also favorable to the lifting of dust in the air and the occurrence of thunderstorms on the reliefs of the High Atlas and the surrounding western regions” particularly in Marrakech and Agadir, the weather directorate said.
This condition made it possible to record a new absolute maximum temperature across the country, with Agadir’s meteorological station recording a maximum temperature of 50.4 degrees on August 11 at 1:33 p.m.
This is considered a new national record, the directorate said, noting that the old record was 49.9 degrees recorded in Es-Smara on July 13.
This record temperature is unprecedented, exceeding 50 degrees for the first time in Morocco’s recorded history.
Meanwhile, the Agadir Ait Melloul meteorological station recorded 50.2 degrees on July 13, which was considered as a new record for the station over the 49.5 degrees recorded at the same station in July 2020.
On August 11, the Tan Tan meteorological station recorded 48.2 degrees, a new record compared to 47 degrees recorded in August 2017.
August 11 also witnessed a monthly record in Tiznit with a temperature of 48.3 degrees, instead of the 47 degrees recorded in August 2010.
Temperatures also reached 48.3 degrees in Taroudant, while Guelmim witnessed a temperature of 47.4 degrees.
“This heat wave is part of a particularly hot summer,” the office explained, stressing that the month of July is considered one of the hottest months on a global scale with a period of three weeks of intense heat.
The weather office forecasts that the weather will remain warm from Monday to Friday on the northern and central interior plains, the south, and the southeast of the country.
The north of Morocco is set to experience a slight drop in temperature on Monday and Tuesday.
