Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and most of the Adriatic coast of Croatia, where temperatures have risen to 40 degrees, have experienced major power outages, reports Reuters.
Almost the entire territory of Montenegro was left without electricity due to power outages, said local energy company CEDIS.
The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, and the towns of Banja Luka and Mostar were left without electricity. Local media reported power outages across the country.
Croatia's energy company HEP said that the power outage in some parts of the country was caused by "an international disturbance that affected several countries".
Most of Croatia's Adriatic coast was left without electricity, state TV HRT reported. It said that traffic in the coastal city of Split came to a standstill after traffic lights stopped working. Ambulance sirens were heard throughout the city.
The Albanian TV company Top Channel reported that several cities, including the capital Tirana, lost power. It said an interconnector had failed in Montenegro.
Heatwave in Europe
The Northern Hemisphere is experiencing record-high temperatures in 2024. The Mediterranean countries had another week of extremely high temperatures, which contributed to forest fires from Portugal to Greece and along the northern coast of Africa in Algeria. In Serbia, meteorologists are predicting temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius this week as winds from North Africa have carried a hot front across the Balkans.
Record temperatures in recent days have caused hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths in Asia and Europe. In Saudi Arabia, nearly two million Muslim pilgrims are completing the Hajj this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. According to authorities, hundreds of people have died during the journey over temperatures above 51 degrees.