A man drinks water during during a heatwave in the city of Fez on July 26, 2024. A heatwave in Morocco has killed at least 21 people in a 24-hour period in the central city of Beni Mellal, the health ministry announced on July 25.Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Life and death in the heat. What it feels like when Earth’s temperatures soar to record highs

On Wednesday, there were 21 heat-related deaths at hospital in Morocco as temperatures spiked to 48.3 C

by · National Post

BENI MELLAL, Morocco (AP) — In the unrelenting heat of Morocco’s Middle Atlas, people were sleeping on rooftops. Hanna Ouhbour needed refuge too, but she was outside a hospital waiting for her diabetic cousin who was in a room without air conditioning.

On Wednesday, there were 21 heat-related deaths at Beni Mellal’s main hospital as temperatures spiked to 48.3 degrees (118.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the region of 575,000 people, most lacking air conditioning.

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