At the weekend, two foreign farm workers died of heatstroke and sun exposure in the Jordan Valley. Both men were in their 40s, medical sources said. And another suspected heat-related death was reported in Aqaba on Saturday.

After the deaths, the Ministry of Labour on Saturday told employers to not let labourers work in the sun between 11am and 5pm, and to provide them with cold drinking water.

In a first, the ministry on Sunday banned all work in exposed or outdoor areas between noon and 3pm, with fines for employers who do. With temperatures between 41°C and 46°C on Sunday, Jordan’s Ministry of Education suspended school in large parts of the country, including the province of Aqaba, the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Badia region, for “students’ safety”.