Egypt heatwave toll escalates to 40

With 19 more deaths due to heatwave in Egypt, the toll has risen to 40 with 92 others being hospitalised, a media report said on Tuesday.

Eleven people died in the capital city Cairo alone, where the day's temperature hovered above 37 degrees Celsius, Al Ahram daily reported.

Three others died in a mental health hospital in Nile Delta's Qalyubia region, three in the southern province of Sohag, one in Upper Egypt's Luxor, and another in Giza, the ministry said in a statement.

Ninety-two people were admitted to the hospital after suffering from heat exhaustion and 70 of those were in Cairo, the statement added.

Twenty-one people died on Sunday after succumbing to heat stroke as a result of temperatures that reached highs of 47 degrees Celsius (117 Fahrenheit), according to health ministry figures.

Meteorological officials said that temperatures in the capital and other parts of the country were higher than averages this year by four to five degrees.

The Egyptian Metrological Authority said that the heatwave is expected to persist throughout the country at least until mid-august.