"Super El Niño" sweeps across Europe; Citizens must be prepared — supercell storms are coming PHOTO

The death toll is rising day by day, while the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe are recording all-time temperature highs. Meanwhile, the State Hydrometeorological Institute of Serbia has already issued a yellow weather alert in Serbia — temperatures are expected to reach as high as 34 degrees Celsius during the hottest part of the day.

Experts warn that this is only the beginning and that Serbia must urgently prepare for extreme conditions and supercell storms.

Seven dead in France

In France, seven people have died as a result of the heat wave. Among the victims was a 28-year-old woman who suffered hyperthermia and died before reaching the hospital after participating in a fitness race. The tragedy worsened when a 53-year-old man also died during the same race, while as many as 16 participants collapsed and were hospitalized. Several drownings at swimming areas have also been reported.

Anthropologist Boris Petrović joined Blic’s live program from Paris, describing the chaos unfolding in France.

“The problem with this heat wave is that it came after a two-week period of fairly cold and rainy weather, with almost winter-like temperatures. Then suddenly the temperature jumped to 35 degrees, and because of that sudden shift people suffered,” Petrović explained.

Parisians seek relief under sprinklers

It is surprising that French authorities did not cancel such events, issuing only basic recommendations about hydration and staying indoors between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Unfortunately, in the public perception there, such tragic outcomes are almost treated as “normal.”

Residents of Paris are seeking relief from the heat under public sprinklers and in cafés that create “artificial clouds,” while severe headaches are being treated by drinking salted water enriched with electrolytes.

“This fits into the broader narrative of climate disruption, where we can have three or four days of extreme heat followed by a week of rain and almost winter-like cold,” Petrović said.

Cities becoming “heat islands”

While Paris and London are burning on weather maps, Serbia is not far behind. Although the average climatological temperature for May in Belgrade is around 18.2 degrees Celsius, the country is now experiencing summer-like temperatures of up to 32 degrees.

Meteorologist Milenko Jovanović explained the heat shock in detail.

“These are not temperatures nobody has ever seen before — people are simply not prepared for temperatures at the end of May that are more typical of late June,” the meteorologist said, adding that warm air has arrived from Africa and lower latitudes, while cities are suffocating as they turn into true “heat islands.”

Supercell storms

Scorching days do not bring only sweat — they also fill the atmosphere with enormous amounts of energy, creating ideal conditions for supercell storms.

“Because the air is constantly getting warmer, it can hold more and more water vapor, which means it contains more energy and can produce more severe weather events,” said meteorologist Milenko Jovanović.

He explained that supercell storms are essentially highly developed cumulonimbus clouds that form suddenly in warm air within just a few hours, and that hail defense systems cannot do much against them.

Citizens must be prepared, because periods of extreme drought and heat are regularly followed by extremely heavy rainfall within very short periods of time.

When cooler weather is expected

After today’s temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, a brief cooldown is on the way. As early as tomorrow, cooler weather is expected across Serbia, with possible brief rain or showers during the night. Temperatures will drop by five to six degrees, making conditions much more pleasant, and that milder weather is expected to continue through Friday.

But people should not relax too much — temperatures will begin rising again on Saturday, and by Sunday thermometers across Serbia are once again expected to climb above 30 degrees Celsius. From Monday onward, atmospheric instability is expected to develop.

“Starting Monday, the weather will become unstable, meaning occasional rain, showers, thunderstorms, and possibly severe weather, primarily in western Serbia and mountainous areas,” Jovanović forecast.

As for long-term forecasts, experts are clear — any prediction extending more than 10 days ahead is highly unreliable. Due to the enormous complexity of atmospheric processes, forecast accuracy drops below 60–70 percent, meaning nobody can reliably say exactly what kind of summer lies ahead.