Morocco experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, mirroring global surface temperature trends, according to the North African nation’s meteorological agency.
An annual report released on Friday revealed an average temperature anomaly of +1.49 degrees Celsius (+2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the 1991-2020 period.
The agency noted that nearly every month in 2024, except June and September, was warmer than the average for the reference period, indicating an “amplification of climate contrasts.”
Several cities broke daily heat records, with Marrakesh reaching 47.6 degrees Celsius (117.7 Fahrenheit) and Beni Mellal hitting 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) in July last year.
Morocco’s all-time heat record was set in August 2023, when temperatures soared to 50.4 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Agadir.
Compounding the extreme heat, Morocco is enduring its seventh consecutive year of drought, with a registered average rainfall deficit of -24.7 per cent last year. While torrential rains in September 2024 caused floods and claimed 18 lives, they were insufficient to reverse the overall rainfall deficit.
Moroccan climatologist Mohammed-Said Karrouk, who heads the National Future Planet Committee, warned that the country’s geography and climate make it particularly susceptible to temperature extremes, noting that warming is now observed across all seasons.
He linked the recent intensification of the West African monsoon to the deadly September floods and advocated for the construction of shelters for vulnerable populations and dams to conserve water, a critical resource given the persistent drought.
These weather extremes are severely impacting Morocco’s vital farming sector, which employs nearly a third of its active population and contributes 12 per cent to its GDP.
Scientists emphasise that recurring heatwaves are a clear sign of global warming and are expected to become more frequent, longer, and more intense.
Globally, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with 2025 projected to be among the top three.
