Families across Tunisia are facing extreme summer heat alongside widespread power outages and water shortages, creating difficult living conditions for millions of residents.
In late August, temperatures reached a scorching 49.8 degrees Celsius (121.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the central city of Kairouan. The extreme heat was among the highest recorded anywhere in the world that day, approaching Tunisia's historical record of 50.3 degrees Celsius set in 2021.
As households and businesses turned on air conditioners to cope with the heat, electricity demand jumped to record levels. To protect the national power grid from total failure, the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG) began implementing temporary, rotating power cuts across several regions.
The electricity rationing has directly harmed water distribution. Many pumping stations across the country need electricity to push drinking water through pipelines. For example, an electrical failure at the Kerker pumping station cut off drinking water to communities in the Mahdia and Sfax regions. These outages have exacerbated long-standing water shortages caused by years of severe drought and climate pressures.
The double disruption of power and water is creating severe hardships for households and healthcare facilities. Without electricity, refrigerators fail, causing food to spoil quickly, while fans and cooling systems stop working.
Hospitals are also feeling the strain. Emergency departments report an unprecedented surge in patients suffering from heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Medical groups have warned that home-bound patients who rely on electrically powered equipment, such as oxygen concentrators, face severe health risks during prolonged blackouts.