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Rabat – In the collective imagination, hot weather is more often associated with North Africa and the Sahara than with Europe. Yet, as Western and Southern Europe are currently experiencing an exceptional heatwave, Morocco has, somewhat surprisingly, been largely spared.
Over the past few weeks, several major European cities have recorded higher temperatures than Morocco’s largest urban centers. This unusual contrast can be explained by a combination of meteorological and climatic factors.
Europe outscorches Morocco
Countries with a big Moroccan diaspora, such as France, Spain, Italy, or Portugal, faced extremely warm weather, with many red alerts, beaten records, and serious public health concerns.
At the peak of the heatwave, Madrid exceeded 40°C while Rabat recorded just 26°C, a gap of 14 degrees. Paris hit a June record of 41°C as Casablanca held at 25°C, 16 degrees cooler despite sitting further south on the same continent from which the hot air mass originated. Rome, placed under Italy’s highest heat alert, reached 35°C against Rabat’s mild 26°C.
Even Marrakech, warmer than the Atlantic coast at 34°C, remained below the temperatures recorded across large parts of France during the height of the heatwave.
Europe under a heat dome
As a powerful anticyclone has settled over Europe, it acts like a heat dome, a persistent, large-scale high-pressure system that remains stationary over a region, trapping hot air beneath it like a lid. Warm air from North Africa is drawn northward and trapped instead of being swept away by Atlantic weather systems. The phenomenon is further reinforced by an atmosphere blocking pattern known as an “Omega Block”. With the nights remaining unusually warm, the heatwave also poses significant health risks.
Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency of heat domes, with these episodes occurring earlier in the year, and becoming longer and more intense. The current heatwave began unusually early, in June, illustrating this trend. World Weather Attribution concluded that such an event would have been virtually impossible without human-induced climate change, while heat records are now being broken with increasing frequency across Europe.
The Atlantic Ocean’s cooling effect
Morocco’s relatively mild temperatures can largely be explained by its geography. The Atlantic Ocean, which borders Morocco’s Western coastline, has a strong influence on the region through marine winds that are naturally cooler and more humid than continental air masses, limiting temperature increases.
Another key factor is the Canary Current, which flows southward along the northwest coast of Africa from the Canary Islands. By carrying relatively cold waters, it cools the air above the coastline. As a result, cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, El Jadida, and Tangier benefit from this natural cooling effect, with the cold ocean current acting almost like a natural air conditioner.
Prevailing winds blow from the Atlantic towards the mainland, preventing extremely hot air masses from settling over the coast for long periods. Heatwaves still occur, but they are generally shorter and less intense than those affecting inland areas.
Together, these natural cooling mechanisms keep temperatures relatively stable, making extreme heat peaks much harder to reach along Morocco’s Atlantic coast.
