RABAT, June 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The year 2024 was Morocco's hottest on 
record, the North African country's meteorological agency said on Friday, 
mirroring the record surface temperatures measured globally.

It said several cities broke daily heat records, including 47.6 degrees 
Celsius (117.7 Fahrenheit) registered in Marrakesh and 47.7 degrees Celsius 
(117.8 Fahrenheit) in Beni Mellal in July last year.

"The year 2024 stands out as the hottest ever recorded in Morocco, with an 
average temperature anomaly of +1.49 degrees Celsius (+2.7 Fahrenheit) 
compared to the 1991-2020 period," the agency said in its annual report, 
citing "an increase in thermal anomalies, particularly during the autumn and 
winter seasons".

Morocco's all-time heat record was set in August 2023, when temperatures hit 
50.4 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Agadir.

The country, which is enduring a seventh straight year of drought, registered 
an average rainfall deficit of -24.7 percent last year, the report said.

Torrential rains in September 2024 -- causing deadly floods and killing 18 
people -- "did not reverse the overall rainfall deficit", the report added.

Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming 
and that they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Fuelled by human-driven climate change, 2024 was the warmest year on record 
globally -- and 2025 is projected to rank among the top three.