Tens of thousands of chickens have died in southeast Lebanon due to the heat wave sweeping the country, local media reported. The heat wave has resulted in the deaths of about 40,000 out of 45,000 in the village of Majidieh alone, according to the state-run National News Agency. The surviving 5,000 chickens are also in danger of dying, the report said. A separate NNA report said some farmers tried to spray the chickens with water to cool them off, but that it did little to help. Farmer Moustafa Serhan told the NNA he contacted authorities to help him dispose of the dead chickens in a sanitary way. Footage broadcasted on Al-Jadeed television showed bulldozers scooping piles of dead chickens and loading them into trucks. A local official cited by the NNA said authorities were trying to find a suitable burying ground for the chicken. The temperature reached 36 degrees Celsius Monday in the district of Hasbaya where the chicken died. The hot summer weather is expected to continue through Thursday across the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, according to the evening weather forecast from the Beirut airport’s Meteorological Department. The Daily Star
