Heat wave kills 21 in Egypt

An Egyptian farmer carries an electric fan as she walks through a Cairo street, Egypt, Tuesday, August 11, 2015.

The majority of the people who died because of Sunday’s heat were in Cairo, where 15 people died, the ministry said.

“The current heatwave is expected to continue until the end of August”, Wahid Saudi, spokesman of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, told Xinhua on Monday, referring the reason for the heatwave to the influence of the seasonal Indian Depression. The temperature is higher by four to five degrees than what is usually seen, and the humidity is very high this month.

With scorching hot temperatures reaching 41 degrees Celsius in areas across Egypt, 21 people have died and more than 69 hospitalised after suffering from heat related incidents. Egypt’s official MENA news agency said he was in his sixties. Twenty-six of the fatalities were in Cairo, which has at least 18 million residents. Three other people died in a mental hospital, and several others in regions including Sohag, Luxor and Giza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

“There is a big rise in temperature compared with previous years”. In rural and southern Egypt, power cuts are usual.