Morocco is living under: heatwave or heat wave? Know the heatwave…

HIBAPRESS-RABAT

When it comes to naming episodes of intense heat, heatwave and heat wave are not perfectly synonymous. Indeed, a heatwave, unlike a heatwave, requires that certain temperature and duration criteria be observed.

Heat wave

The word heatwave comes from the Latin canicula, which literally means “little dog”. In astronomy, it is the name that the Romans gave to the star Sirius, the brightest in the constellation Canis Major, which rises and sets at the same time as the Sun during the great heat of summer.

By extension, in common usage, heatwave has naturally come to designate the period of very great heat or this heat itself.

In meteorology, the criteria for declaring a heat wave can vary from country to country. In Canada, for example, to be considered a heat wave, the minimum temperature must be 30°C, the episode must last at least three consecutive days and a decrease in the temperature difference between day and night must be recorded.

During the heatwave, it was almost as hot at night as during the day.

The corresponding adjective is canicular.

The scorching heat keeps bathers on the beach until late in the evening.