In the shopping list of the citizens of Mali, instead of bread there is now ice: the record heat has made it a basic necessity, without excluding it from the logic of the market and inflation. With temperatures reaching 48 degrees and refrigerators out of order for electrical cutsthe cubes are used to preserve food and drinks, and their cost has risen exponentially: the price of a cold, precious little bag can now reach up to 500 CFA francs, almost 80 euro cents. That’s double the cost of a baguette.
«Too expensive!», he comments Fatouma, a girl from the capital Bamako, in a report from BBC. «I used to cook a few times a week, now I have to do it every day: the food goes bad immediately, you risk having to throw it away», adds Nana Konaté. The problem of electricity shortages has persisted in Mali for a year already, following the bankruptcy of the state energy company which ended up bankrupt due to millions of accumulated debts. Many citizens do not have generators: this, with a heat that not even at night does it drop below 46 degrees, means not only unusable refrigerators, but also the inability to turn on fans, forcing many to sleep outdoors in search of some refreshment. “In the evening I feel dizzy, the heat is unbearable, I have to pour water on myself,” says Soumaïla.
As if Mali didn’t already have enough problems, one might think: the country suffered two coups in 9 months between 2020 and 2021with a military junta that ousted the president and took office in his place. Since then the dictatorship has been in forceeven if the army promises that the transitional government will return power to civilians after the 2024 elections: they were supposed to take place in February, but they were postponed to a later date (on the other hand, the Italian family taken hostage for two years from a jihadist gang).
From March to today, meanwhile, the anomalous heat wave killed 100 people in the state, causing an average of 15 hospitalizations per day for dehydration and respiratory problems. Schools in some areas are closed, and Muslims have been advised not to fast during Ramadan. Future forecasts are not encouraging: temperatures will not drop below 40° in the next few weeks, also affecting neighboring Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger and Chad.
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