Europe was hit by a wave of record heat. The Balkan region was on alert on Monday against scorching temperatures that caused forest fires, reports TASR according to the AFP agency. Although the heat subsided in parts of Western Europe, temperatures were expected to rise again on Monday in the east of the continent. In Croatia, as in most other Balkan countries, the authorities warned of dangerous conditions.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Albania, predict temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius. After days of fighting a fire at a waste dump near the Bosnian city of Mostar, which has been spreading acrid smoke since last week, firefighters announced that they had largely extinguished the flames. Emergency crews elsewhere were also working to tackle fires that broke out over the weekend, but none were considered life-threatening.
Scorching conditions have forced several governments to adopt emergency measures in recent days, such as the ban on the sale of alcohol in Paris or the cancellation of large open-air events. However, no similar measures have yet been publicly announced in the Balkans, despite calls from trade unions in North Macedonia for the government to step in and protect workers.
Croatian meteorologists said that a storm front is expected to arrive on Tuesday evening, which will be accompanied by heavy rain and strong thunderstorms. Although this change will bring at least partial relief from near-record highs to most of the region at the end of the week, temperatures should continue to remain high, AFP reminded.
According to scientists from the scientific initiative World Weather Attribution (WWA), this is the deadliest and wettest June heat wave ever recorded in Europe. According to them, without climate change, it would be “practically impossible” in June. Absolute temperature records were set in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, as well as June records in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
