Morocco Bucks Global Trend as 2024 Set to Be Hottest Year on Record

With a forecast increase in the global annual temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the year 2024 would be the hottest ever recorded, according to the Copernicus Institute and a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published on Monday as part of COP29 being held in Baku. Morocco should not be affected by this record rise in heat. "In Morocco, 2023 is so far the hottest year on record, with an average temperature 1.77 degrees Celsius higher than the 1981-2010 reference period," says the Directorate General of Meteorology (DGM) in a public notice.

Daily temperatures have exceeded normal levels for 79% of the year. A new national record for the daily maximum temperature was also set, with 50.4 degrees Celsius recorded in Agadir on August 11, 2023, crossing the 50-degree mark in Morocco for the first time. The DGM explains that the temperature increase in 2024 should not exceed the levels of 2023. "The year 2024 was characterized by an exceptionally mild winter, particularly in January, and this trend continued into spring. In April 2024, high temperatures were recorded, with an increase of +0.67 degrees Celsius compared to the average, making it the third hottest April in Morocco," it is detailed.

Furthermore, the DGM states that last May, "an increase of +0.77 degrees Celsius was recorded," as well as in summer, with a "relatively cool month of June," and a month of July with "an increase of +0.76 degrees Celsius above the usual average." According to the institution, these temperature increases are mainly due to greenhouse gas emissions that "play a predominant role," deforestation that "reduces the Earth’s ability to absorb carbon," or natural climate phenomena like El Niño that "have also contributed to a rise in temperatures in certain regions of the world."