Morocco's winter breaks heat records: meteorologists March 9, 2024

World map showing temperature anomalies in January 2024 according to Copernicus C3S/ECMWF data (Gal ROMA)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Morocco experienced record heat this winter, including the hottest January on record, the country's meteorological service told AFP, blaming climate change.

The North African kingdom, where temperatures recently reached 37 degrees Celsius, is facing its sixth consecutive year of drought.

The lack of water is threatening the viability of agriculture - an important sector of the economy that employs around a third of the working-age population and accounts for 14 percent of exports.

In January, the average temperature reached a record and was 3.8°C above the normal value for the period 1991-2020," said Houcine Youaabed, head of the communication department of the meteorological service.

It is the "hottest January since the first measurements in 1940," he told AFP.

The previous record was set in January 2016, when the average temperature was 2.9°C above normal.

In February, temperatures in several regions were 10 degrees above the usual average for that month, the agency said.

Several records were broken, including in the coastal city of Safi in western Morocco, where the temperature reached 35.6°C.

"These recent events in Morocco are part of a global trend" and "reflect the consequences of global warming, including an intensification of meteorological phenomena," Youaabed said.

Data compiled by AFP using the European Union's Copernicus earth observation program shows that more than a fifth of Europe and the Mediterranean is classified as dry, with 17.3 percent suffering from a moisture deficit, which corresponds to the "warning" category.

It is expected to rain again in Morocco in the coming days, but only large rainfalls would be enough to reduce the water deficit after years of drought.

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