Europe’s Record-Breaking Heatwave Spreads Across Balkans As Wildfires Rage And Death Toll Climbs

The Balkans felt the effects of Europe’s record-breaking heatwave on Monday as soaring temperatures continued to disrupt daily life and raised fresh concerns over spreading wildfires. The extreme weather has already been linked to hundreds of excess deaths across the continent and has affected power generation, infrastructure and healthcare systems for more than a week.

Meteorologists also warned that the intense heat is expected to return from the start of next week, with countries including France and Germany, which were among the worst hit in recent days, likely to face another spell of soaring temperatures.

Heatwave Fuels Wildfires And Pushes Temperatures Higher Across The Balkans

Croatia’s weather service issued a red alert on Monday for several regions, including the capital Zagreb and the popular tourist destinations of Split and Dubrovnik. On the Adriatic island of Vis, around 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Split, dozens of firefighters supported by four aircraft battled a wildfire that was burning through pine forests.

In neighbouring Serbia, the State Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) warned that temperatures would climb to 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday. Further south, firefighters in Albania managed to contain a wildfire that burned through many hectares of bushes and olive trees near the southern village of Klos over the weekend.

Scientists Link Record-Breaking Heat To Climate Change As Death Toll Rises

Scientists said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst ever recorded in Europe. They said the prolonged spell of extreme heat has disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.

France has reported 1,000 excess deaths during the heatwave. The country’s public health agency said most heat-related deaths involved older people and warned that the number was expected to increase.

The heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, which has made this week’s soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according to scientists.

Experts Warn Another Heatwave Is Likely As Weekend Tragedies Highlight Risks

Luca Mercalli, the president of Italy’s Meteorological Society, said temperatures were expected to surge again from July 5-6. “The areas affected look broadly the same as in the first wave, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and to some extent Britain,” he told Reuters.

“With the extreme heat the risk of forest fires increases, but we are also seeing a lot of rainstorms, which obviously mitigates that risk,” he added, noting that storms were very localised so rainfall amounts could vary greatly. The extreme weather also claimed more lives over the weekend. In Cyprus, police said two boys aged eight and 10 from Bulgaria were found dead inside a hot car on Sunday afternoon. Although temperatures on the island were around 38 C, they were not officially classified as a heatwave for that time of year.

In Poland, two cyclists aged 30 and 71 died while taking part in a Poland Bike Marathon event in Marki near Warsaw on Sunday. The country also recorded a new all-time high temperature of 40.5 C.

(with inputs from Reuters)

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