Tunisia swelters as power cuts disrupt water supplies

Tunisia is enduring another spell of extreme heat, with the central city of Kairouan reaching 49.8°C on August 27. The reading came close to the country’s national record of 50.3°C, set in 2021.

The Tunisian Observatory for Weather and Climate said Kairouan ranked as the world’s second-hottest monitored location that day, behind Mehran in Iran, which reached 50°C. Six Tunisian cities appeared among the 20 hottest monitoring stations.

The heat has increased demand for air conditioning, placing additional strain on the electricity network. The Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas introduced rotating cuts in several regions, saying the measure would protect the safety and continuity of the system. Officials said demand may have reached 6,000 megawatts in July, after reaching 5,600MW only days earlier.

Water supplies have also suffered in some areas because pumping stations depend on electricity. An outage on August 24 stopped the main Kerker pumping station and disrupted drinking-water supplies in parts of the Mahdia and Sfax governorates, according to the National Company for Water Exploitation and Distribution.

The power cuts do not explain every water shortage. Tunisia was already facing longer-term pressure on its water system, while extreme temperatures have increased demand. Doctors have warned that emergency departments are also coming under mounting strain.