An all-time record high temperature for the Czech Republic of 41.9 degrees Celsius was measured yesterday in Doksany, near Litomerice, one degree higher than the previous record set on Saturday, according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMU).
The official network of Czech weather stations recorded temperatures over 41 degrees for the first time, said CHMU. Such temperatures were also detected in the village of Tuhan, near Melnik, central Bohemia.
However, just as on Saturday, when the 14-year-old Czech record was broken for the first time, meteorologists noted that it was still necessary to wait for verification of the new all-time record.
According to CHMU, nearly all stations that have been measuring temperature for at least 30 years broke or equalled the record for the month of June. At half of the 171 stations, a higher temperature has never been recorded.
In Prague’s Klementinum, which has been continuously monitoring daily temperatures since 1775, the temperature reached 39.7 degrees yesterday, breaking its all-time record set on Saturday. However, according to meteorologists, yesterday’s high at the country’s longest-operating weather station may not yet be the final one.
On Saturday, with a recorded temperature of 40.9 degrees, Doksany broke the previous record of 40.4 degrees, set 14 years ago in Dobrichovice, Central Bohemia.
Meteorologists reported yesterday morning that Sunday’s temperatures were generally 0.5 to 1.5 degrees higher than at the same time on Saturday.
“Today will be the hottest day in the history of temperature measurements here, and we’re certain that we’ll exceed 41 degrees at some stations – perhaps by quite a bit,” they announced an hour before noon, noting that Doksany was the hottest location at that time, with temperatures exceeding 36 degrees.
Two hours earlier than on Saturday, meteorologists recorded temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius Sunday. The first locations to reach this around 1 pm were Rez near Prague and Doksany, which had also been the hottest places in the Czech Republic over the past few days.
People sought relief from the heat at swimming pools, ponds, lakes and reservoirs, with many such areas overwhelmed by crowds. According to available information, five people have drowned in the Czech Republic since Friday. Rescue workers reported hundreds of cases of people collapsing, with dehydration and heat exhaustion the most common causes of health problems.
Extreme heat is also affecting other European countries these days, with record temperatures seen over the weekend in the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland and Slovakia.
Germany set a new record yesterday for the third time in three days. According to preliminary data, meteorologists recorded a temperature of 41.7 degrees at the Neissemunde weather station near the Polish border. Poland also saw an all-time temperature record yesterday, with the town of Slubice in the west of the country reaching 40.5 degrees.
