The entire Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe ce under a heat wave from the beginning of July, a ce predicts that the heat will last two more weeks, writes the meteorological service Severe Weather Europe (SVE).

– This is a historic heat wave with daily temperatures exceeding the threshold of 40 degrees Celsius. It is most intense on the Balkan Peninsula and in Eastern Europe. Seas in the Mediterranean region are also getting hotter, reaching 30 degrees Celsius in places, the SWE said.

According to forecasts of global weather models, temperatures across southern and eastern Europe during July will remain well above average. For the Balkan Peninsula ce predict record values ​​for this week, writes SWE. Temperatures reached over 30 degrees in many areas, and in recent days over 40 degrees ce registered in Romania, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece.

July is famous as the hottest month of the summer, but the temperatures these days and the next seven to 10 days will be significantly higher than average. The daily average in many regions will be about 10 degrees higher than average, SVE announces. The service adds that the thermal dome is responsible for this situation.

A heat dome is a meteorological phenomenon in which a large mass of warm air is trapped over a specific area, causing extreme temperatures. Normally, warm air, which is thinner than cold air, tends to rise. However, a strong high pressure system can prevent this lifting and spreading and force the warm air to remain trapped near the surface in a certain area. This is how high pressure systems work as a cover or dome over a certain area.

The sun's energy heats the earth, and that heated earth then heats the air above it. Without the ability to rise and disperse, the heated air stays close to the ground, where it continues to ce warms up. It condenses under the dome, and as that its total heat is trapped in a smaller volume, its temperature in addition ce increases.

The high pressure also prevents the formation of clouds and precipitation, which means that the space under the thermal dome remains dry and sunny, which further increases the temperature.

One of the extreme examples of a heat dome it happened in 2021 year in North America, when the western parts of the United States and Canada experienced record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, causing numerous human health problems and wildfires.