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At least one person was killed in Albania after severe storms battered parts of the Balkans overnight, damaging crops and infrastructure across the region.
The storms came after weeks of intense heatwaves and prolonged drought that affected central Europe and the Balkans.
In Albania, an electrician was killed in the southern coastal town of Himara while repairing a power line damaged by the storm.
Local media also reported that three people were hospitalised in Saranda after sustaining injuries from falling trees and shattered glass.
In neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the southern region of Herzegovina, particularly Nevesinje and surrounding communities, suffered heavy agricultural losses.
Nevesinje Mayor Milenko Avdalovic said on Wednesday that the storms devastated farmland, leaving many farmers with little or nothing to harvest. He said fields of potatoes, onions and cabbages, as well as orchards, were badly damaged.
“In the villages hit by the storm … our farmers will have practically nothing left to harvest,” he said.
“The storm swept everything away,” he added.
North Macedonia also experienced powerful winds, with gusts reaching up to 134 kilometres per hour.
Authorities said more than 100 vehicles were damaged and 189 trees uprooted in the capital, Skopje. Several public buildings, including the presidency, government ministries and the airport, also sustained damage.
Scientists have warned that climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events worldwide.
