This week’s heatwave, which has been blamed for a market fire and has led to delays in high school exams, has begun to subside on Friday, with temperatures expected to fall by around 7 degrees Celsius around Egypt.

The mercury hit 45 degrees in Cairo and other parts of the country over the past two days, prompting the education ministry to postpone annual exams scheduled for Thursday.

Cairo is expected to see highs of 36 and lows of 23 degrees on Saturday, down from highs of 42 degrees on Friday.

Temperatures will fall by a further 3 degrees in the capital on Sunday, according to the website of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority.

The coastal cities on the Mediterranean are predicted to see average highs of 26-28 degrees and lows of 20-21 degrees through Sunday.

Temperatures will also slip below 40 degrees in the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, where the hot weather is believed to have caused a huge fire at a shopping mall in an old market area on Thursday, destroying dozens of stalls.

The city is forecast to see highs of 37 degrees and lows of 30 degrees over the coming two days.