How the Balkans region grappled with the hottest summer in more than a century

Balkan countries are reporting that the summer of 2024 was the hottest since the measurements started more than 130 years ago

ByJOVANA GEC

 Associated Press
September 7, 2024


BELGRADE, Serbia -- Jelena Popovic normally loves summer and all it brings along, including the hot weather. But this year it was just too much.

“This summer was too hot, you couldn't walk in the city. It was only pleasant when you swim," said Popovic, a resident of Belgrade, Serbia's capital. “It was like a tropical summer, like we live in Africa and not in Europe."

This was true for much of the Balkans, a region in southeast Europe that is used to hot summers but where this one broke previous records with repeated heat waves and almost a totally dry July and August.

Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. Long periods with temperatures above 30 C (86 F) that didn't fall below 20 C (68 F) overnight have pushed average temperatures to new highs, meteorologists explained.

“Summer normally means exchange of hot days with high temperatures and then a break after five to six days with rain and thunderstorms,” Serbian meteorologist Nedeljko Todorovic said. “But this happened only in June. Practically entire July and August had no rain while high temperatures persisted.”


Climate scientists say that global warming caused mostly by burning fossil fuels has led to warmer temperatures, with the world recently experiencing 13 consecutive monthly heat records.

European climate service Copernicus reported on Friday that the summer of 2024 also was Earth’s hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured.

Southeast Europe was “trapped” this summer under a subtropical warm air mass from Western Africa and the Mediterranean Sea area, said Goran Pejanovic, from Serbia’s Hydrometeorological Service.

“We had four heat waves ... the most intense one in July lasted from July 5-21, for almost three weeks without a drop of rain,” he said. Overall, this summer in Serbia was 3.3 degrees warmer than average, he added.

In Slovenia, an Alpine nation bordering Austria and Italy, average summer temperatures were up by 2.5 degrees compared to the period before 2020, according to the country's Environmental Agency.

The summer in Slovenia passed without cooler periods that are normal for the mountainous country, the report said. Record high temperatures weren't found in the lowlands, but rather at higher altitudes in the Julian Alps while temperatures throughout the country remained above 30 C (86 F) in early September.

“All records were broken” in Bosnia as well when it comes to the number of very warm nights and days. These tripled in some areas compared to last year, which held a previous record, said Bakir Krajinovic, from Bosnia’s Hydrometeorological Institute.

Neighboring Croatia reported the highest ever recorded temperatures of the Adriatic Sea, which also reached 30 C (86 F) in some areas.

Last year previously was the hottest year on record globally, as human-caused climate change and the naturally occurring weather phenomenon El Niño, which warms parts of the Pacific, combined to reach sweltering highs.

Heat waves are hotter, longer and more frequent, and some parts of the world are also experiencing longer and more frequent droughts. The world has warmed on average around 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times.

Hot weather in the Balkans has dried out rivers in Bosnia and Serbia, caused raging forest fires in Croatia, North Macedonia and Albania, shriveled crops and scorched farmland throughout the region.

Increasingly hot nights mean people’s bodies, as well as animals and plants, can’t cool down to deal with the day time. This is even more extreme in big cities where concrete buildings radiate heat at night that accumulated during the day.

Meteorologists in Montenegro said that temperatures overnight in some towns were as high as 29 C (84 F).

While good for the tourism industry along Albania's coastline, the very hot summer was bad for agriculture and power production. Almost 98% of Albania’s power comes from hydropower stations that were crippled by monthslong drought.

North Macedonia struggled with around 2,000 forest fires in the past three months, three times more than in 2023. The fires destroyed tens of thousands of acres of forests. Emergency official Stojanche Angelov warned that "it is not over yet ... if it doesn't rain soon, we will have wildfires until November.”


Dozens of villages and towns in Serbia faced drinking water restrictions because of the drought. Soldiers brought up water tanks to mountains in the southwest of the country for thirsty cattle and horses.

Up north, the Rusanda salty lake, whose mud is used in medical therapy, dried out completely, turning into a moon-like gray surface. Jovica Mudric, from the local medical center, said they had to pour water from tanks in order to make mud for patients.

“It's not the first time this happened, but never like this year,” he said. “I know everyone likes summer but we could use some rain."

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Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, Sabina Niksic in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Predrag Milic in Podgorica, Montenegro, contributed to this report.

The Hottest Place On Earth Just Had Its Hottest Summer Ever Recorded

The average daily temperature was 40.3°C    (104.5°F).

Holly Large
Jr Copy Editor & Staff Writer
Editedby Katy Evans

An extreme heat alert has been in place for much of the summer.
Image credit: National Park Service via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

There’s little doubt that the last few months in Death Valley National Park have been particularly toasty, but officials have now confirmed that the hottest place on Earth has just experienced its hottest-ever summer

“Death Valley National Park experienced the hottest meteorological summer (June-August) on record, with an average 24-hour temperature of 104.5°F (40.3°C),” announced the National Park Service (NPS) in a statement. “This surpasses the previous record of 104.2°F (40.1°C), set in 2021 and 2018.”

The MVP of this sweltering summer was no doubt July, which featured the summer’s highest temperature of 54°C (129.2°F). It was recorded at a weather station in Furnace Creek, where the world’s highest recorded temperature of 56.7°C (134°F) was recorded back in 1913. 

While July 2024 might not have reached those heights, it did end up becoming the park’s hottest month in history. 

Over the course of the month, there was little respite from the searing weather. On top of only featuring seven days that didn’t reach at least 48.9°C (120°F), there were also nine consecutive days during which temperatures were 51.7°C (125°F).

While daytime heat throughout the summer months contributed to the new record, the lack of a significant drop in overnight temperatures also ended up playing a role – it certainly wouldn’t have been a fun place to try and sleep.

“The average low temperature of 91.9°F (33.3°C) meant that there was little relief overnight,” said the NPS. “From June 1 to August 31, the temperature dipped below 80°F only five times, and there were nine days when overnight lows never fell below 100°F.”

The extreme temperatures this summer also saw a spate of heat-related incidents. In July, a group of motorcyclists traveling near Badwater Basin were treated due to the scorching heat; two members of the party had become severely ill, with one dying and the other taken to hospital for advanced medical care.

With temperatures expected to continue to reach at least 37.8°C (100°F) throughout September and into early October, the park’s “Extreme Summer Heat” alert remains in place for visitors.

“Expect high temperatures of 100°F to 130°F (43°C to 54°C). Minimize time outside in heat. Do not hike after 10 am. Drink plenty of water. Travel prepared to survive; cell phones do not work in most of the park,” reads the alert, with park officials also advising to wear hats and sunscreen, and stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle.