Another 19 die as heat toll soars to 40 in Egypt

An Egyptian owner directs an electrical aficionado as this lady takes against a Cairo thoroughfare, Egypt, Tuesday, August 11, 2015.

A spokesman for the Egyptian Meteorological Authority said that the heat wave has been brought on by a seasonal depression that originates in India and flows westward over the Arabian Peninsula.

A heat wave that swept across Egypt has caused the deaths of 21 elderly people, while 66 people suffered heat exhaustion.

Egyptian summers are usually hot, but this week’s temperatures in the south soared to 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). Egypt’s official MENA news agency said he was in his sixties.

The Ministry identified children, those at an advanced age and those suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes as those most likely to be impacted by the soaring temperatures.

Eleven individuals died in Cairo alone, where the temperature stayed above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

At least 40 people had died on Sunday and Monday, including detainees and patients in a psychiatric hospital, according to officials.

The Ministry of Electricity blamed the outage on increased consumption that briefly knocked out a power transformer in western Cairo.