Rabat – While Hurricane Ophelia will come close to Morocco, it will not affect the country directly. However, the hurricane, which will reach the Azores this weekend, is expected to lead to a rise in temperatures over most of the kingdom.
Speaking to Moroccan television channel 2M, Mohamed Saïd Karrouk, a climatologist and professor at the University of Casablanca, confirmedthat Ophelia would not reach Morocco.
Nevertheless, he said that Moroccans must remain vigilant.
“Soon, the cyclones will begin to approach the Atlantic coast, we must be cautious,” said the climatologist.
Karrouk added that since 2005, Morocco has come under the influence of a new climate, and that the increases in temperatures that we are witnessing are now the norm.
“They should no longer be regarded as a new or exceptional phenomenon, it has become a normality and henceforth one will have to learn to adapt,” said the climatologist.
Hurricane Ophelia is currently a Category Two storm and is expected to gain strength as it moves north east towards Britain and Ireland, bringing strong winds early next week, according to the British National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The center forecasts that Ophelia will transition into a post-tropical cyclone by Sunday night.
