Temperatures hit record highs across the Balkans today, killing one person and sending dozens to hospitals around the region with heatstroke.
Bosnia's meteorology institute said temperatures may hit a 100-year record, reaching over 35 degrees Celsius in central parts of the country and 38 degrees in the south. Temperatures had jumped by 15 degrees since Monday, it added.
The Sarajevo University medical centre said it had seen over 200 patients with heat-induced complaints in the last few days.
"It's is like a madhouse in here," Senad Prasto, head of the centre's emergency ward, told the daily Vecernji List.
An elderly man died during a tram ride in the Croatian capital Zagreb yestyerday from suspected heat stroke, and Serbian authorities said today would be the hottest May day ever recorded in Belgrade, likely topping 35 degrees.
"Everyone should wear lightweight and light-coloured clothes, a hat and sunglasses," said Vladimir Kendovski, head of Macedonia's public health commission. "If we apply preventive measures, it will be easier to manage the heat wave.
Heatwaves claimed more than 40 lives across the region in June and July 2007, causing wild fires, power cuts, water shortages and traffic disruptions.