Bulgaria’s July 2024 one of two hottest since 1930 – weather bureau
The month of July 2024 in Bulgaria was similarly warm to July 2012, which was the country’s warmest seventh month of the year since 1930, the national weather bureau said on July 31.
Average monthly temperatures, between 21 and 29 degrees Celsius, were between 1.5 and four degrees above the monthly norm.
The highest temperature measured this month was 42.2 deg C on July 16 in the town of Sandanski in southern Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, the highest temperature measured this month was 36.2 degrees on July 17.
Rainfall in July 2024 was around and below the climatic norm, similarly to July 2023, the weather bureau said.
The month began with sunny and hot weather, before a cold atmospheric front passed through the country on July 2 and 3.
This was followed by sunny weather and significantly higher temperatures from July 4 to 17. Towards the end of that period, maximum temperatures in lower-altitude parts of Bulgaria were about 40 deg C.
From July 6 to 24, the entire country was covered by a heat wave, meaning consecutive days with a maximum temperature above 32 deg C.
At 19 weather stations, maximum temperatures above 40 deg C were recorded, some even on consecutive days, such as Sandanski which had daytime highs above 40 degrees for nine consecutive days.
The weather bureau said that since July 10, dozens of fires had been raging in various places in the country.
High temperatures, drought and strong gusts of wind contribute to the growth of fire fronts and make extinguishing difficult.
The fires caused the greatest damage in the area of Strandzha and Sakar.
The fires in the country have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land and forests, as well as dozens of houses and domestic animals in several villages.
On July 16 and 18, a cold front caused intense rainfall in parts of northern Bulgaria, and in central south and south-eastern Bulgaria on July 22. The storms brought down branches and trees, caused floods, and caused material damage.
On July 22, a father and daughter died after being struck by lightning in the area of Mount Kupena in the central Balkan mountain range.
Rainfall during the third 10 days of July was late for some of the later spring crops grown under non-irrigated conditions. Worsening drought was causing serious damage to crops.
In July 2024, the rivers in the country had amounts of water around and below the thresholds for medium waters and around the thresholds for low waters.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
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