Central Europe’s heatwave tightened its grip on Friday as Slovakia shattered its all-time temperature record for a second consecutive day, with thermometers hitting 42.2C in a southern village, the national weather agency reported.
The new peak was measured in Dolne Plachtince, surpassing the previous record of 41.4C set a day earlier in southwestern Slovakia, according to a statement from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) sent to journalists.
The back-to-back records underscore an exceptional stretch of searing temperatures paired with scarce rainfall across central Europe.
In Slovakia alone, the country’s longstanding temperature mark has now been broken twice in June, highlighting how rapidly conditions have escalated during the current spell.
Austria, Slovakia’s neighbour to the west, has also registered record-breaking heat twice this week.
Experts say climate change has amplified drought across Europe this summer, with prolonged extreme heat fueling unusually dry ground and worsening water stress.
The same mix of high temperatures and drought has continued to drive wildfires across the region, including in Serbia, where a man died in a village about 80km east of Belgrade after losing control of a fire he lit near his home.
In central Serbia’s Ibar valley, a major forest fire remained out of control, with firefighters supported by water-bombing aircraft battling difficult terrain as they tried to shield nearby villages.
Local media footage showed thick smoke rising from pine forests as flames tore across hillsides close to homes.
Smoke from another wildfire, burning in a nature reserve northeast of the capital, was visible from the city.
Farther south, Albanian authorities said they had brought dozens of blazes under control after fires in the south of the country prompted a small number of evacuations.
Across most of the region, authorities have issued warnings of extreme fire danger.
Serbian police said the death of the man who was overwhelmed by the blaze he started underscored the need to respect fire bans.
“This is the most serious consequence of irresponsible behaviour, and I therefore once again call on all citizens to exercise the utmost caution,” police officer Luka Causic said.
Meanwhile, days of relentless heat have further deepened drought conditions affecting large swathes of Europe.
Sections of the Danube have fallen to record-low levels, constraining hydropower generation and complicating oil imports transported by river in Serbia.
At the Bezdan monitoring station, where the Danube enters from Croatia and Hungary, measurements showed the river continuing to recede after reaching record lows last week.
