Extreme Hailstorms, Wildfires Damage Balkans, Central Europe

The Balkan region and parts of Central Southern Europe are experiencing a series of extreme weather events driven by climate change, including intense hailstorms, severe heatwaves, droughts, and widespread wildfires. Catalonia in Spain is identified as a European hotspot for large hailstorms due to rising temperatures and sea warming, which have led to off-season and larger hailstones. Between July 7-10, violent storms swept across Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine, and Romania, causing extensive property damage, power outages, and injuries. In the Balkans, record-breaking heatwaves with temperatures soaring up to 46.6°C were followed by destructive hailstorms and heavy rains, exacerbating water scarcity, agricultural crises, and triggering hundreds of wildfires, especially in Serbia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia. Croatia’s Adriatic port city Split suffered considerable damage from a severe hailstorm, while Serbia continues to combat over 600 wildfires amid drought conditions, prompting emergency measures. These events underscore the urgent climate resilience needs across the region as experts link the intensifying weather extremes to global warming.