Macedonia Battling Wildfires Amid Balkan Heat Wave

Macedonia

A wildfire that broke out on Sunday near the south western town of Bitola and burnt an area of 200 hectares has been fully extinguished, authorities said on Monday. The flames were threatening to engulf the settlement of Bair that only last year was also hit by a fire.

Two days before, some 400 hectares of thick wood in the Pelister National Park burned, threatening two nearby mountain villages. Some 600 people helped to extinguish the fire and firefighting planes were called in to help.

The Crisis Management Centre has reported an increased instance of fires in other parts of Macedonia as well and authorities suspect some may have been deliberately started.

Forecasters predict sunny and hot weather on Wednesday with temperatures in the country reaching up to 38 degrees Celsius. They expect a heat wave to last throughout this week and possiblu crossing 40 degrees.

The Macedonian Red Cross has already put emergency intervention health teams on standby, while the State Institute for Health issued a warning to stay out of the sun.

Serbia
 
The heat wave is expected to hit Serbia as well, with temperature going up as high as 39 degrees Celsius,  according to forecasts published by the Hydrometeorological Institute of Serbia yesterday.

According to Dragana Brocovic from the Institute, Serbia expects a warm period that may be hazardous to human health. Brocovic said that weather will stay dry with high temperatures till the end of August.

The highest August temperature in Serbia was 41.9 degrees Celsius, measured in August 1921.

A spokeswoman for the Belgrade Emergency Nada Macura Organisation recommended people stay at home between 10am and 6pm unless going out was unavoidable. She has also recommended that people drink a lot of fluid and wear clothes made of natural materials when going out.

Croatia

Croatia is also bracing itself for a heat wave, with local meteorologists warning that this week will be the hottest of the year.

Temperatures in central and eastern Croatia, Gorski Kotar and Lika are expected to rise up to 35 degrees Celsius during the coming days, while the Adriatic coast, Istria and the Dalmatian Hinterland can expect up to 40 degrees Celsius.

The record holders for the week will be Sisak, Karlovac, Daruvar and Bilogora where temperatures are expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius.

A fall in temperatures is expected to come by the end August, but the temperatures will still remain above average, daily Jutarnji List writes.