Egyptians shield themselves from the sun in Downtown Cairo, Egypt, June 3, 2014 (Photo: Mustafa Omira)
Twenty-one people died on Sunday and 66 were treated for heat exhaustion nationwide, the health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar told Ahram Online.
Fifteen died in Cairo, four in Marsa Matrouh on the western Mediterranean coast, and two in Upper Egypt’s Qena, according to a separate statement issued by the ministry on Monday.
The statement said that most of the fatalities were elderly people.
Egypt has seen a rise in temperatures since the start of August, with increased humidity adding to the effect.
Temperatures in Cairo on Sunday reached 38 degrees Celsius, with humidity hovering above 50 percent.
On Monday the mercury is expected to hit 42 degrees in Cairo, 36 degrees in Alexandria on the north coast, and 46 degrees in Aswan in Upper Egypt.
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