Serbia records hottest summer in five years

(from Reuters video)

BELGRADE, Serbia (CCTV) — Serbia is seeing its hottest summer in five years, according to experts with the country’s national meteorological observatory.

Temperatures surpassed 38 degrees Celsius in three days this summer, and the heat wave this week has brought temperatures up to over 42 degrees Celsius.

“In this heat wave, we expect even higher temperatures. On Friday and during the weekend, in most places we expect 39 and 40 degrees [Celsius], and locally, it can be 41 or 42,” said Slobodan Sovilj, an expert with Serbia’s national meteorological observatory.

The meteorological departments have told citizens to avoid spending a long time partaking in outdoor activities.

Thermometers showed that outdoor temperatures in capital Belgrade reached 42.5 degrees Celsius at  15:45 Thursday, and a reading of a meadow showed 45 degrees Celsius.

Dragan Rac is an employee of a local wedding planning company, and he said the company is suffering because of less business amid the extreme weather.

“It feels bad. Such weather makes me drink a liter of water every half an hour. After you wet yourself with water, it feels like hot steam in the air around you. The weather is a suffering in particular for people with heart problems. I suggest that people should not expose themselves to the sun amid such hot weather,” Dragan said.