Edition No. 2
One of the hottest Junes ever recorded
June temperatures settled lastingly above the seasonal norms, with several early heatwave episodes.
Context
Heatwaves are nothing new in Tunisia, but their earliness and their frequency are changing. Episodes once seen at the height of summer now occur as early as June, driven by surges of hot air from the Sahara.
This kind of anomaly is part of an underlying trend: the Mediterranean basin is warming faster than the global average.
Why it matters
More intense and longer heat weighs on health — especially for the elderly and outdoor workers — on electricity demand for air conditioning, and on crops. It also accelerates the evaporation of water reserves, already under strain.
To place such an episode, one still has to tell a one-off hot spell apart from a shift in the climate: Understand Weather or climate: what's the difference?