The Moroccan Health Ministry confirmed the death toll on Thursday and attributed the fatalities to extreme temperatures sweeping across the region.
A severe heatwave has killed at least 21 people in the central Moroccan city of Beni Mellal within a 24-hour period.
The Moroccan Health Ministry confirmed the death toll on Thursday and attributed the fatalities to extreme temperatures sweeping across the region.
The meteorology department reported that soaring temperatures impacted much of North Africa from Monday to Wednesday, with some areas reaching up to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).
The regional health directorate reported that in Beni Mellal, "most of the fatalities were people with chronic illnesses and elderly people, whose health conditions worsened due to the high temperatures."
Morocco has experienced its sixth straight year of drought and record-breaking heat this winter. January was reported as the hottest month since 1940, with temperatures in some areas nearing 37°C, according to the meteorology department.
The increasing temperatures and extended drought, which have diminished reservoir levels, pose a significant threat to the crucial agricultural sector.
At the end of June, Water Minister Nizar Baraka reported that water evaporation had reached 1.5 million cubic meters per day.
Morocco set a record temperature of 50.4°C in August last year in Agadir, located in the southern part of the country.
Scientists have found that climate change is contributing to more intense, longer-lasting, and frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves.