Tunis hit record 49C in heat wave on Tuesday

TUNIS: A heat spike across northern Tunisia caused record temperatures on Tuesday including a sweltering 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital Tunis, the Meteorological Institute said.

In some parts of the country the high temperatures led to power outages as people stayed at home running air conditioning, putting extra pressure on the electricity system. Tunisia's Meteorological Institute said the previous highest recorded temperature in Tunis was 46.8C in 1982. The northern cities of Bizerte and Beja also endured their highest recorded temperatures on Tuesday.