Egypt swelters under heat wave amid discontent over rolling power cuts

Egypt is baking in a heatwave as Egyptians struggle to cope amid rolling power cuts ahead of the Eid Al Adha holiday this weekend.

The highest temperatures are forecast in the southern city of Aswan, which is bracing for 48°C at the weekend, but temperatures are high throughout Egypt, with weather bureau forecasts of between 43°C and 45°C for most of the country.

The unseasonable and exceptionally intense heat has caused some of the nation’s 106 million people to question government policies that have made it harder to cope in the heat.

Egypt's government has introduced rolling power cuts aimed at saving fuel to keep power stations running.

Although a growing number of Egyptians are reporting uninterrupted electricity at their homes in recent days, others say the cuts happen outside the 3pm to 7pm time frame announced by authorities or last longer than the official two-hour cap.