Croatia records historic heatwave durations across multiple cities

The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ) has reported record-breaking heatwaves across Croatia during the current summer season. Preliminary analysis covering the period from May 1 to August 16 shows that six of the eight analyzed meteorological stations set new records for the duration of heatwaves that pose health risks.

Rijeka recorded the longest continuous heatwave, lasting 20 days from July 28 to August 16. This surpasses the previous national record of 17 days set in Knin in August 2003. Other stations also set new duration records, including Split-Marjan with 19 days, Knin with 18 days, Dubrovnik with 17 days, Gospić with 15 days, and Zagreb-Maksimir with 10 days.

In addition to duration records, DHMZ noted new records for periods of extreme health danger, categorized as the red level. In Rijeka, this high-danger period lasted 10 consecutive days from August 6 to August 15. Split-Marjan also saw a record nine-day period of extreme danger from June 22 to June 30.