World News
Extreme heat in Tunisia triggers rotating power cuts and water disruptions
Temperatures nearing 50°C drive record electricity demand, straining Tunisia's infrastructure and health services.
The short version
- Extreme temperatures reaching up to 49.8°C in Tunisia led to record electricity demand, prompting state utility STEG to institute rotating power outages.
- The power cuts disrupted electrically powered water-pumping stations, worsening existing water shortages and affecting bottled-water production.
- Emergency medical facilities reported severe strain, with a doctors' group citing heat-related deaths while the Health Ministry reported hundreds of heat-related consultations.
- President Kais Saied alleged deliberate sabotage behind the utility failures, a claim unverified as technical authorities point to grid overload and long-standing infrastructure strain.
Key facts
- Temperatures in Kairouan reached 49.8°C on August 27, according to the Tunisian Observatory for Weather and Climate.[Al Jazeera]
- The Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG) implemented rotating power cuts to manage record electricity demand, which officials estimated may have reached 6,000 megawatts in July.[Al Jazeera]
- An electricity outage on August 24 shut down the Kerker pumping station, disrupting drinking water in Mahdia and Sfax governorates, according to water distribution authority SONEDE.[Al Jazeera]
- The Tunisian Organization of Young Doctors stated that emergency departments faced an unprecedented surge in admissions, including 13 heat-related deaths at Habib Bourguiba Hospital in Sfax within 24 hours on August 29.[Al Jazeera]
- The Health Ministry reported 633 heat-related consultations between July 1 and August 29, stating that health services continued without interruption, though it did not release a nationwide death toll.[Al Jazeera]
- Bottled-water manufacturing was affected by power rationing alongside shortages of raw plastic materials.[Al Jazeera]
- President Kais Saied claimed on August 27 that investigations showed utility disruptions were caused by deliberate acts of sabotage.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- President Kais Saied's claim of deliberate sabotage behind utility outages has not been independently verified or corroborated by documented technical causes.[Al Jazeera]
- The nationwide death toll directly resulting from the heatwave and power disruptions remains unknown, as official health ministry figures only cover medical consultations.[Al Jazeera]