Egypt swelters under heat wave amid discontent over rolling power cuts

Southern city of Aswan is forecast to experience highs of 48°C over the Eid weekend

Youths cool off in a swimming pool during high temperatures in the Al Dewika district of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Bloomberg

Egypt is baking in a heatwave as Egyptians struggle to cope amid rolling power cuts ahead of the Eid Al Adha holiday this weekend.

The highest temperatures are forecast in the southern city of Aswan, which is bracing for 48°C at the weekend, but temperatures are high throughout Egypt, with weather bureau forecasts of between 43°C and 45°C for most of the country.

The unseasonable and exceptionally intense heat has caused some of the nation’s 106 million people to question government policies that have made it harder to cope in the heat.

Egypt's government has introduced rolling power cuts aimed at saving fuel to keep power stations running.

Although a growing number of Egyptians are reporting uninterrupted electricity at their homes in recent days, others say the cuts happen outside the 3pm to 7pm time frame announced by authorities or last longer than the official two-hour cap.

Fatma, a retired government employee who lives in central Cairo, considers herself and her family lucky not to have had a power cut for the past week.

But that, she said, has meant no relief from the soaring temperatures this week.

“I am being stifled by the heat. So stifled, I don’t know what to do with myself,” she said. “The air conditioner in my bedroom is 30 years old and it makes a noise like a moving train.

“I sleep in the room of one of my children who has a relatively new air conditioner.”

A man carries a newly purchased electric fan in the Attaba district of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Bloomberg

Temperatures in Cairo on Wednesday hit 40°C but are forecast to rise at the weekend – which coincides with the start of the Eid Al Adha holiday – to 45°C, a level rarely reported in the capital outside the months of July and August.

The heatwave, which the state weather bureau blames on low pressure originating in India, has caused fatalities.

According to media reports in Egypt and Sudan, as many as 50 Sudanese, including entire families, died last week of sun stroke while attempting to enter Egypt illegally across its southern border.

Following their death, Sudan’s consulate in Aswan issued a warning against taking the desert route to Egypt, saying heat, motorway robberies and the possibility of getting lost make the journey perilous and potentially deadly.

Egypt’s summers have in recent years been times of record heat that many attribute to global warming. The summers have become longer and the winters mild except for short spells of unusually cold weather.

Egyptians say the effects of the heat have been made worse by some government policies, chiefly cutting down trees that have for generations been valued as a mitigating factor during the harsh heat of summer.

Thousands of trees, some as old as 100 years, are known have been felled in the last few years to clear the way for the government’s construction drive. The loss of the trees has angered campaigners who blame authorities for neglecting the environment.

Before-and-now photos published by online news sites of streets in Cairo and other major cities purport to show what they brand as the “wanton butchery” of the nation’s trees.

“Every tree that has been cut in Egypt constitutes a crime against those who search for a spot of shade on hot days,” said Amr Adeeb, host of a popular talk show aired on the Saudi-owned, Dubai-based network MBC Egypt.

“The reason behind the massacre of trees is a mystery to me,” he said. “Everyone now needs to plant a tree outside his home.”

“We need to care for one another. Please, enough with the stubbornness and arrogance. Otherwise, the result will not be to your liking.”