In the face of climate upheavals challenging human endurance, extreme heat is emerging as a significant hurdle to everyday life, warns a recent United Nations (UN) briefing. Following an unusually scorching start to the summer, the organization highlights dangerously high temperatures, both day and night, persisting into August and impacting «millions of people worldwide». North Africa is among the hardest-hit regions, with Morocco being no exception. According to the UN's meteorological agency (WMO), «this heatwave situation underscores the importance of early warnings and heat action plans». The World Meteorological Center in Beijing reports that during the first week of August, «maximum temperatures exceeded 42°C in parts of Western Asia, South Central Asia, most of North Africa, southern Pakistan, and the southwestern United States, with local peaks surpassing 45°C». In Morocco, the Directorate General of Meteorology (DGM) has issued multiple alerts for temperatures ranging from 40 to 47°C, and even 48°C. In certain regions, these scorching temperatures are accompanied by thunderstorms. «The combination of extreme heat near the surface and cold air at high altitudes can lead to intense precipitation and devastating flash floods in mountainous areas, further impacting lives, infrastructure, and causing landslides», explains Omar Baddour, head of climate monitoring at the WMO. Since the summer of 2025 began, the WMO has also sounded the alarm about the planet's near-irreversible warming, bringing several related consequences. In light of these findings, Houcine Youabed, communications director at the DGM, previously confirmed to Yabiladi that Morocco is even «more exposed than the global average, due to its geographical location». A stark example is the heatwave from August 7 to 14, 2023, «the most severe in the country's history», with an absolute record of 50.4°C in Agadir on August 11 of that year. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union, the UN notes that July 2025 was «the third hottest July globally (after July 2023 and 2024)». Southeastern Europe recorded a record temperature of 50.5°C in Turkey.
