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

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — 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."

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 dried up Bileca lake, near the town of Bileca, Bosnia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

The dried out Bileca lake, near the town of Bileca, Bosnia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

Freshwater shells on a dry bank of the dried out Bileca lake, near the town of Bileca, Bosnia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

The dried out Bileca lake, near the town of Bileca, Bosnia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

The dried out Bileca lake, near the town of Bileca, Bosnia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

The dried out Rusanda salty lake whose mud is used in medical therapy, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man collects mud that is used in medical therapy at the dried out Rusanda salty lake, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Wilted sunflowers in a field near the town of Becej, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The dried out Rusanda salty lake, whose mud is used in medical therapy, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The dried up Rusanda salty lake, of which its mud is used in medical therapy, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man collects mud that is used in medical therapy at the dried out Rusanda salty lake, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Wilted sunflowers in a field near the town of Becej, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The dried out Rusanda salty lake of which its mud is used in medical therapy, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man collects mud to be used in medical therapy from the Rusanda salty lake that has dried out completely, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Wilted sunflowers in a field near the town of Becej, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The Rusanda salty lake, of which its mud is used in medical therapy, has dried out completely, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man collects mud that is used in medical therapy from the Rusanda salty lake that has dried out completely, near Melenci, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Experts say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started more than 130 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The last words heard from the crew of an experimental submersible headed for the wreck of the Titanic were “all good,” according to a visual re-creation of the journey of the Titan before it imploded, killing all five on board.

The U.S. Coast Guard presented the animation Monday on the first day of what is expected to be a two-week hearing on the causes of the implosion. Crew aboard the Titan were communicating with support staff aboard the Polar Prince via text messages, according to the presentation.

The crew lost contact after an exchange of repeated inquiries from the Polar Prince about the submersible's depth and weight as it descended. The Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display. One of Titan’s final responses, which became spotty as it descended, was “all good here.”

Coast Guard officials also gave an overview of the history of the Titan, during which they stated that the hull of the craft was never subject to third-party checks. Officials also said the sub was left exposed to weather and elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023. The Titan imploded in June 2023, setting off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.

The aim of the hearing in Charleston County, South Carolina, is to “uncover the facts surrounding the incident and develop recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” the Coast Guard said in a statement earlier this month. The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard. When the hearing concludes, recommendations will be submitted to the Coast Guard's commandant.

“There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic incident,” said Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard Office of Investigations, who led the hearing. “But we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again.”

Among those killed was Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan. The company suspended operations after the implosion. Witnesses scheduled to testify on Monday include OceanGate's former engineering director, Tony Nissen; the company's former finance director, Bonnie Carl; and former contractor Tym Catterson.

Some key OceanGate representatives are not scheduled to testify. They include Rush's widow, Wendy Rush, who was the company's communications director.

The Coast Guard does not comment on the reasons for not calling specific individuals to a particular hearing during ongoing investigations, said Melissa Leake, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard. She added that it's common for a Marine Board of Investigation to “hold multiple hearing sessions or conduct additional witness depositions for complex cases.”

Scheduled to appear later in the hearing are OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein; former operations director, David Lochridge; and former scientific director, Steven Ross, according to a list compiled by the Coast Guard. Numerous guard officials, scientists, and government and industry officials are also expected to testify. The U.S. Coast Guard subpoenaed witnesses who were not government employees, Leake said.

OceanGate has no full-time employees at this time but will be represented by an attorney during the hearing, the company said in a statement. The company has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigations since they began, the statement said.

“There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this devastating incident, but we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy," the statement added.

The Titan became the subject of scrutiny in the undersea exploration community in part because of its unconventional design and its creator’s decision to forgo standard independent checks. The implosion killed Rush and veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.

The Titan made its final dive on June 18, 2023, losing contact with its support vessel about two hours later. When it was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

The search for the submersible attracted worldwide attention, as it became increasingly unlikely that anyone could have survived the implosion. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 300 meters (330 yards) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said.

The time frame for the investigation was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The Coast Guard said in July that the hearing would delve into “all aspects of the loss of the Titan,” including both mechanical considerations as well as compliance with regulations and crewmember qualifications.

The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021.

FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)