Egypt’s heat wave will keep most of the country under extreme temperatures on Wednesday, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) says, with Cairo forecast at 36°C and the Upper Egypt city of Qena reaching 45°C. Humidity will push the felt temperature 1-2 degrees higher than the recorded high, and mist will limit visibility on roads from the north of the country to Cairo, the Canal Cities, Central Sinai, and North Upper Egypt. The authority expects a slight break at the start of next week, when Greater Cairo’s highs fall to 34-35°C, a shift one EMA spokesperson described as a “relative improvement.”
For now, the heat is settled. Wednesday marks the third day of a forecast pattern in which the same cities post the same numbers, and the same caveats apply to anyone planning to be outside between midmorning and late afternoon.
Wednesday’s Forecast, City by City
The EMA’s Wednesday bulletin, published by Sada Elbalad, lays out a single temperature map for the country. Cairo is forecast at 36°C, with a low of 23°C. The Mediterranean coast runs cooler: Alexandria 30°C, with a low of 22°C, and Marsa Matruh further west at 27°C, low 21°C. Upper Egypt, as is its habit in June, runs hottest. Sohag is forecast at 43°C, Qena at 45°C, and Aswan at 44°C, with overnight lows of 25°C, 28°C, and 30°C respectively.
Moderate to hot weather is expected on the North Coast, where sea influence keeps daytime readings below the inland figure. At night, moderate warm conditions will prevail across most of the country, with South Upper Egypt staying moderately hot through the early morning.
The full table of expected highs and lows is below.
| City | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Cairo | 36°C | 23°C |
| Alexandria | 30°C | 22°C |
| Marsa Matruh | 27°C | 21°C |
| Sohag | 43°C | 25°C |
| Qena | 45°C | 28°C |
| Aswan | 44°C | 30°C |
Humidity Will Push the Heat Index Higher
The number on the thermometer is not the number on the skin. The EMA warns that high humidity will push the felt heat index 1-2 degrees above the recorded high, and the same figure has appeared in EMA bulletins all week. Egypt Today’s report of Monday’s forecast put the add-on at “1 to 2 degrees Celsius compared to the actual temperatures in the shade,” and Wednesday’s bulletin keeps the same line.
For anyone reading the city table, that means a Cairo forecast of 36°C is, on the street, a working day of 37-38°C in the shade, and longer in direct sun. The pattern has held through Monday and Tuesday and is forecast to hold through Wednesday. In Upper Egypt, where the recorded high is already 45°C at Qena, the same humidity adjustment is applied on top of an extreme base. For the body’s purposes, 46-47°C of felt heat is the working figure, well into the range where outdoor labor is restricted by Egyptian labor law. The authority is, in practical terms, a different institution from the one it was a century ago. The the Egyptian Meteorological Authority’s institutional history runs back to a Bulaq room in 1829 where temperatures were logged five times a day alongside the five prayer times, and the chain of forecast centers that grew out of that practice is what produces the Wednesday bulletin.
Mist, Fog, and Reduced Visibility on Key Roads
Wednesday’s heat comes with a visibility hazard. The EMA warns of mist extending into fog on the agricultural and highway road network, limiting horizontal visibility from the north of the country all the way to North Upper Egypt.
The affected segments, as listed in the bulletin, span five distinct regions. Drivers in each will face reduced visibility at dawn and in the early morning hours, with the hazard easing as the sun rises and air temperatures climb. The list:
- Northern agricultural roads
- Highways leading into Cairo
- Canal Cities
- Central Sinai
- North Upper Egypt
Wind Speeds and Sea Conditions Across Egypt
Wind will not rescue anyone from the heat, but it will be felt. The EMA forecasts occasional wind speeds of 30 to 35 kilometres per hour in Cairo and Lower Egypt, driven by the same pressure pattern that has settled over the country for the past several days.
For sailors, the Mediterranean is friendlier than the Red Sea. Mediterranean waves are forecast at low to moderate height, ranging between 1 and 1.5 meters, with surface winds that vary between northeast and northwest. Red Sea waves are expected to be moderate, ranging between 1.5 and 2 meters in height, with northwest surface winds.
Both seas sit in the moderate range for this time of year, and the EMA’s marine forecast does not flag either as a hazard to commercial or fishing traffic. Operators along the Red Sea coast, where the higher wave range and consistent northwest wind can build up against east-facing shorelines, should treat the 1.5-2 meter figure as a working ceiling rather than a forecast maximum.
On land, the 30-35 km/h wind pattern will keep dust in the air in open areas, particularly in the transition zones between the Nile Delta and the desert.
When the Heat Wave Is Expected to Break
Wednesday is not the end of the heat. The EMA’s media center told Egypt Today on Tuesday that the current high temperatures will continue until the end of this week, with a slight decrease expected at the beginning of next week.
Dr. Manar Ghanem, a member of the media center at the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, framed the shift in a single phrase. The maximum temperatures in Greater Cairo will drop to between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius, Ghanem said, “representing a relative improvement compared to current averages, while the usual hot summer weather will persist.” The drop is small in absolute terms, and the language around it is carefully hedged, because a 1-2°C swing in a 36°C week is a one-day change, not a season change. The forecast for next week still reads as a hot June week, with the same fog and humidity pattern likely to apply.
The authority’s framing of the relief is, in numerical terms, modest.
The current high temperatures will continue until the end of this week, with a slight decrease expected at the beginning of next week.
- Greater Cairo Wednesday high: 36°C
- Greater Cairo next-week high: 34-35°C
- Humidity add to felt temperature: 1-2°C
- Heat wave duration: continuing through end of this week
- Expected shift: “relative improvement” per the EMA
The data that flows from Egypt’s national forecast centers is republished internationally through the official country weather portal for Egypt, where the WMO carries the same temperature and humidity patterns that the EMA puts out to Egyptian media.
How Monday Set the Pattern
Wednesday’s forecast is not a one-day event. It is the third day of a forecast pattern that began on Sunday and tightened on Monday. Egypt Today’s report of the Monday June 8 forecast had Cairo at 36°C, with humidity pushing the felt temperature 1 to 2 degrees Celsius above the recorded figure, and a 20% chance of light rain in the northern coastal governorates and northern Lower Egypt.
The Monday numbers are the same as Wednesday’s for Cairo: 36°C, with a 1-2°C humidity adjustment. Upper Egypt ran slightly lower on Monday (Sohag 41°C, Qena 42°C, Aswan 41°C) and has climbed since, with Wednesday’s Qena forecast of 45°C the high point of the week so far.
The northern coast held cooler on both days. The 20% rain chance EMA noted for Monday’s northern coast is not in Wednesday’s bulletin, which suggests the unsettled weather has cleared and the dry heat pattern is now in control. The trajectory from Monday to Wednesday is a tightening, not a loosening, of the heat. For a sense of how the same forecast format plays out in cooler months, see Egypt’s earlier warm weather and fog forecast.
A Normal June, Authority Says
For all the headline numbers, the EMA’s position is that this is a normal pattern. Ghanem emphasized, in the same Tuesday briefing, that recurring heat waves are normal for this time of year. The same point was made implicitly in the structure of the forecast, with the week’s bulletin keeping the same shape and the same caveats.
The phrase “for this time of year” carries weight. Egypt’s June climate baseline puts Greater Cairo’s average high in the mid-30s, and a 36°C reading for Cairo sits within the normal range, not above it. Upper Egypt’s 45°C at Qena is on the higher end of the normal band, and the humidity that pushes the felt figure higher is the variable the EMA keeps watching. The 1-2 degree break the authority expects next week is, in its own terms, a return to the upper edge of the normal range, not a return to mild weather.
What changes between this week and next is small. The 36°C line for Cairo is a forecast, and the EMA’s own framing is that the figure will move, not the season.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hot will Cairo be on Wednesday, June 10, 2026?
Cairo is forecast at 36°C, with a low of 23°C. The EMA expects humidity to push the felt temperature 1-2 degrees higher than the recorded high.
When will the heat wave break in Egypt?
The EMA’s media center said Tuesday that high temperatures will continue through the end of the week, with a slight decrease at the start of next week. Greater Cairo’s high is expected to fall to 34-35°C, a shift spokesperson Dr. Manar Ghanem described as a “relative improvement.”
Are heat waves normal in Egypt in June?
Yes. Ghanem, an EMA media-center member, said recurring heat waves are normal for this time of year, and the usual hot summer weather is expected to persist after the break.
Which roads will be affected by fog on Wednesday?
The EMA flags mist extending into fog on the northern agricultural roads, highways leading into Cairo, the Canal Cities, Central Sinai, and North Upper Egypt, all of which may see limited horizontal visibility in the early morning hours.
How hot is Upper Egypt this week?
The EMA’s Wednesday forecast puts Sohag at 43°C, Qena at 45°C, and Aswan at 44°C, with overnight lows of 25°C, 28°C, and 30°C respectively.
