At least 40 die in 2 days in Egypt over sweltering heatwave

Twenty-one elderly people have died and 66 others suffered heat exhaustion after a heat-wave swept across Egypt. Four people were injured in Matrouh city and two more were injured in Qena, an Upper Egyptian city.

The Health Ministry says that 19 people died Monday when temperatures reached around 40 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in the country’s north. The ministry says the heatwave killed 21 people Sunday.

Those who died including seven women were all aged over 60.

Rise in physique temperature, redness of face and dry pores and skin, irritation of the attention, complications and muscular contractions, dizziness and vomiting are amongst sunstroke signs listed by the ministry. Meteorological officials confirmed that temperatures in the capital and some parts of the country were higher then average.

Fifteen other patients were transferred to other hospitals in light of the heat, the official said. The temperature is higher by four to five degrees than what is usually seen, and the humidity is very high this month.

“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.