The heatwave that swept through the country this week claimed 11 lives in North West. Eight people died on Thursday, five of whom were dead by the time they arrived at Mafikeng Provincial Hospital. Three died in the casualty section of the hospital. On Friday three more people died, one in Mafikeng and two in Taung.The victims were between 22 and 58 years old. Others affected by the heatwave included 16 people who were admitted to Mafikeng Provincial Hospital suffering from heat-related symptoms.Tebogo Lekgethwane, spokesman for the provincial health department, said it was unusual to have so many cases of heatstroke, and that the high temperatures were mostly affecting the elderly. Heatstroke is the most extreme symptom of extensive exposure to high temperatures, due to the body's inability to regulate its own temperature.story_article_left1The deaths come amid some of the highest recorded temperatures in the country. According to the South African Weather Service, heat records that had been standing for more than 50 years were broken.North West recorded some of the most extreme temperatures in the country.On Thursday, temperatures in parts of the province soared to record levels, including an all-time high in Marico district of 45ºC - breaking a 56-year-old record.Mafikeng, where most of the affected victims in the province were referred to, recorded a maximum temperature of 41.4ºC.Other areas in the country where the mercury rose past 40ºC included Thabazimbi in Limpopo at 44.7ºC on Thursday, Ladysmith in KwaZulu- Natal at 43ºC on Wednesday, and a record-shattering 44.3ºC on the same day in the Northern Cape town of Kuruman.According to the South African Weather Service, a heatwave is declared when temperatures reach 5ºC or more above the average of the hottest month at the location, for three days or longer.The service explained that the heatwave, which lasted the whole week, was caused by a strong high-pressure system over the northern, central and eastern parts of the country, resulting in "sunny, dry and hot weather"...