Rabat – The General Directorate of Meteorology (DMN) has forecasted a heatwave from Saturday, May 7 until Tuesday, May 10, in several provinces across Morocco.
In a special weather notice, DMN said that the heatwave ranging between 38 and 43 degrees Celsius is expected from Saturday to Tuesday. The heatwave is set to affect the provinces of Taroudant, Agadir Ida-Outanane, Inzegane-Ait Melloul, Guelmim, Tan-Tan, Smara, Oued Eddahab, and Ousserd.
The heatwave will also hit Tata, Tiznit, Chtouka-Ait Baha, Sidi Ifni, Assa-Zag, Laayoune, Boujdour, and Tarfaya.
Heatwaves are very common in Morocco starting in May, the gateway to the summer season.
However, an early heatwave could affect the vital but already struggling agricultural sector.
Morocco witnessed a lack of rainfall and months of drought at the start of 2022 despite earlier positive signs. The Moroccan government has expressed satisfaction with the recent rainfall but acknowledged that crops such as cereals were heavily impacted.
A recent report from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service expects Morocco’s wheat and barley yields to decline in the 2022-20233 agriculture season.
Minister of Agriculture Mohammed Sadiki said that Morocco imported 18 million quintals of wheat in the last five months to compensate for the domestic and international context.
Agriculture is one of the main pillars of Morocco’s economy, contributing almost 15% to Morocco’s GDP.
