On Monday, July 24, the temperature in Tunisia approached 50 degrees, 6 to 10 degrees above the normal for the season, causing power outages and forcing many residents to seek refuge on the coast or beaches, even at night.
Authorities have also been on alert in neighboring Algeria, with peaks of up to 48 degrees being placed under “orange vigilance” in five eastern prefectures (Jijel, Skikda, Annaba, El Tarf and Guelma).
Violent fires were registered
Fierce fires were recorded in both countries amid overheated vegetation that had been deprived of water for weeks.
In Algeria, fires in the north and east on Sunday night killed 15 and injured 26 and required the evacuation of 1,500 people.
Fires have broken out again in Tunisia, in a border area with Algeria near Tabarka in the northwest, fueled by strong gusts of wind and searing temperatures. At least 300 people have been evacuated by sea and land from the village of Melloula, which has been the victim of a serious fire during the week.
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A fire near Tabarka this Monday, July 24, 2023. | FETHI BELAID / AFP View full screen
A fire near Tabarka this Monday, July 24, 2023. | FETHI BELAID / AFP
On Monday, temperatures in downtown Tunis rose to a high of 49 degrees in the shade. A screen on Avenue Bourguiba, the capital’s central axis, even showed 56 degrees in the sun at noon. The passers-by AFP encountered were rare.
Aida Cherif, 56, had no choice: “I have a doctor’s appointment so I had to get out, but with my water bottle”says this Tunisian. “I usually do my shopping early in the morning. […] Then I lock myself at home”She added.
Others perceive the situation with more mucus. Elyes Nafti, 18, goes to the beach. “We’ll get under an umbrella and return at the end of the afternoon when the temperatures drop. It’s hot in the medina (the historic city center). We’re going to freshen up a bit, calm down and have a good time.”.
power outages
These unusually high temperatures for the month of July have led to power outages in recent days. The Steg corporation explained that the decision had been made to maintain the network’s performance. This load shedding takes place for half an hour to an hour, particularly at times of high consumption.
On July 10, a record power consumption of 4,692 megawatts was achieved due to intensive use of the air conditioning system.
Tunisians from working-class areas, often without air conditioning, come to sleep in tents on the beaches of Carthage or La Marsa north of Tunis in the evenings.
On social networks, many Tunisians are ironic about the heat peak expected on Monday and compare Tunisia to a “kanoun”, a traditional brazier.
Others have posted prayers for the end of the heat wave, which has lasted more than two weeks.
In Algeria, immersed in a “unprecedented heat wave”The state-owned energy company Sonelgaz reported peak consumption of 18,697 megawatts on Sunday. Air conditioning units are now overpriced (more than €500 compared to €300 before) or no longer to be found.
Elsewhere in the Maghreb, Morocco and Libya, temperatures were more in line with seasonal norms.