by Nurat Uthman
A heatwave in Morocco has killed at least 21 people in a 24-hour period in the central city of Beni Melilla. The health ministry announced the tragedy on Thursday.
The meteorology department said soaring temperatures affected much of the North African country from Monday to Wednesday. It reached 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in some areas.
In Beni Mellal, “the majority of deaths involved people suffering from chronic illnesses and the elderly, with high temperatures contributing to the deterioration of their health conditions,” the regional health directorate said in a statement.
The ministry was not able to immediately say if this was the highest recorded death toll from a heatwave in the country.
Beni Mellal, more than 200 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of Casablanca, was still experiencing temperatures of 43 degrees on Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days, the meteorology department said. In the tourism hotspot of Marrakesh, they are expected to drop by 10 degrees on Sunday.
