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European heatwave: Dubrovnik & Zadar hit record temperatures

The heatwave reached its peak today

28 June 2019 – The intense heatwave sweeping Europe, which has claimed several lives, has brought record temperatures to parts of Croatia.

Friday was the hottest ever June day recorded in Dubrovnik and Zadar on the Dalmatian coast since measurements began, daily 24sata reported. 

In Dubrovnik, temperatures hit 37.3°C, a record for June. The previous hottest June temperature recorded was 35.7°C, back in 2003. In Konavle, southeast of Dubrovnik, temperatures reached a scorching 39°C on Friday. 

Banje beach in Dubrovnik (Photo: Sarah Labuda)

At 3 pm on Friday, temperatures in Zadar were recorded at 37°C, the highest ever in June. The previous record was 34.6°C, measured in 2012. 

A new record could be set also today on the island of Hvar. At 1 pm, temperatures measured 36.9°C, just 0.1C below the current record. Yesterday, temperature records were also set in Pazin and on Sljeme in Zagreb. 

Zadar

The forecast for the weekend in Croatia is for more heat with sunshine and highs of 33°C for much of the country. 

In France, the hottest ever day in the country in history was set when temperatures reached 45.9°C today. The new record was measured in the southern town of Gallargues-le-Montueux. 

Heatwave sweeping Europe this week

The cause of the heatwave is due to several elements, including a phenomenon called “polar amplification”, in which rising temperatures north of the Arctic Circle trigger unusual weather patterns which can weaken and divert the jet stream from its usual course.

Meanwhile, a large area of high pressure over central Europe and a large storm over the Atlantic is expected to pull hot air from Africa north, in a weather event known as a “Saharan bubble”. 

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