Heat wave in Tunisia, a country on the front lines of climate change
A meteorologist working at the National Institute of Meteorology in Tunis, August 9, 2021, as an intense heat wave hits Tunisia.
© Matthias Raynal / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
A heat wave hit Tunisia, extreme temperatures are expected for Tuesday, August 10.
Mercury will exceed seasonal norms by 8 to 15 ° C depending on the region.
Extreme events are expected to be more frequent, more intense across the world, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has just published a very alarming report.
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With our correspondent in Tunis,
Matthias Raynal
The hum of the air conditioning accompanies the days of Mehrez Ghannouchi, head of the media forecasting service at the National Institute of Meteorology.
“
We need it so that we can work and keep the equipment,
” he explains.
48 ° C forecast for Wednesday in Nabeul
At the moment, Tunisia is a furnace… The north-west of the country is particularly affected, like the governorate of Nabeul.
“
In Nabeul, the old record was 41 ° C and had been recorded in 1987. So there, we expect that we will drop this value.
On Wednesday, 48 ° C is forecast in the shade!
This is exceptional !
"Since 1950 the temperatures have continued to increase:"
There is a very important frequency concerning the recording of records.
Almost every 4 or 5 months, we are setting records.
"
According to Mehrez Ghannouchi, the main explanation is climate change.
“
Tunisia is an area which is vulnerable regarding the effects of climate change.
And we have no other solution than to adapt.
"
The increase in temperatures favors heatwaves, but also, it is a little counter-intuitive, precipitation, by evaporation of water ... According to the forecaster, this summer heat wave could therefore give this fall torrential rains.
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Tunisia
Weather
Climate change
Environment