Moroccan authorities have announced a heatwave is due to hit several provinces in the country from Tuesday to Friday this week, according to the General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM).
An orange alert was issued by authorities as temperatures are expected to soar between 40 and 44 degrees Celsius between Tuesday and Friday.
Provinces, which include Assa-Zag, Es-Semara, Boujdour, Oued Ed-Dahab, and Aousserd, were warned to brace for the sweltering conditions.
Despite the rainfall that caused floods in some areas in northern Morocco in March, Morocco still faces long spells of drought, which have impacted water resources and its rain-dependent agriculture.
Economic impact
Last month, Agriculture Minister Mohamed Sadiki disclosed that the volume of rainfall remains 27% lower than the average of the last 30 years.
The rain deficit has equally caused grain producers to downgrade their yield estimates. As grains are a staple of the Moroccan diet, droughts translate to overreliance on imports, which in turn affects that country’s external trade balance.
The north of Africa has been severely impacted by years of drought, with Morocco’s north African neighbour Tunisia also battling a 5-year drought.
The cost of drinking water in Tunisia has increased by up to 16 percent, according to the country’s official water gazette.
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