Exploring Urban Temperatures in Morocco
A groundbreaking study focused on five Moroccan cities has revealed a surprising trend: contrary to the common perception that urban centers are typically warmer than their outskirts, many city centers are, in fact, experiencing cooler temperatures. This research, published in the journal Urban Science in September 2026, analyzes satellite temperature data collected from Tangier, Béni Mellal, Ifrane, Laayoune, and Taza between 1995 and 2024. By meticulously comparing the ground temperatures of city centers with those of their surrounding areas, the study challenges longstanding assumptions about urban heat dynamics.
Among the cities examined, Tangier stood out as the only location where the city center consistently registered higher temperatures, averaging 4.6°C warmer than its outskirts. In stark contrast, the other cities observed a cooler trend in their centers, with Béni Mellal's city center being 1.4°C cooler, Ifrane 2.4°C cooler, Laayoune 1°C cooler, and Taza 0.7°C cooler than their respective outskirts. Notably, Ifrane's center was cooler in a remarkable 90.5% of the recorded observations, while Tangier only showed this trend in 3% of cases.
The Role of Local Climate Factors
The research team attributes these temperature discrepancies to various factors, including the type of land surrounding the cities and the local climate. Specifically, they found that bare and arid land situated outside the urban areas tends to absorb and retain heat more effectively than the developed areas that boast vegetation, shade, and irrigation systems. Consequently, the researchers conclude that heat patterns across Morocco are "fundamentally city-specific," influenced by variables such as humidity, vegetation density, and the surrounding landscape.
Interestingly, the study found no significant long-term changes in the temperature differentials between the city centers and their outskirts across the five cities. This observation does not imply that temperatures have not increased; rather, it suggests that urban and peripheral areas might be warming at similar rates. As a result, the researchers recommend that heat-reduction strategies should be tailored to the specific conditions of each city instead of applying a one-size-fits-all approach nationwide. They also emphasize that satellite data captures the temperature of surfaces like roads and roofs rather than the air temperature experienced by residents, indicating that future temperature forecasts for 2026 and 2027 remain uncertain.
As reported by en.yabiladi.com.
