The Hydrometeorological Service is forecasting a new heatwave that will last until the end of next week. It will be especially hot from Wednesday, when daytime temperatures will pass 40 degrees in places.

Yesterday at 5 p.m. the service measured 37.2 degrees in Veles and at Zajchev Rid in Skopje, 36.6 in Kavadarci, 36.2 in Skopje-Petrovec, 35.8 in Demir Kapija, Shtip and Vinica. The coolest spot was Popova Shapka at 21.6 degrees. That is a spread of nearly sixteen degrees inside a country the size of ours.

The night is more dangerous than the day

The biggest health risk does not come from the peak daytime temperature itself, but from the combination: high daytime heat plus tropical nights in which the body never gets a chance to cool down. The organism does not recover, and the next day starts with reserves already spent.

Most at risk are people over 65, those with chronic heart and lung conditions, small children, pregnant women, and people who work outdoors. That last group gets mentioned least in the official advice, and has the least ability to follow it.

„Stay at home during the hottest part of the day” is well-meant and it is correct. It just does not apply to the man on scaffolding at two in the afternoon.

UV radiation and fire risk

Ultraviolet radiation levels remain very high, which raises the risk of skin damage even from short exposure. At the same time, the dry ground increases the danger of fires - something the country has already seen at several locations this month.

Similar conditions are forecast across the Balkans and southern Europe. This is not a Macedonian anomaly but a regional picture of a summer that is getting longer and harder to endure with every year.

A plan for the hottest days needs to exist before those days arrive, not during them. Which institutions have air-conditioned rooms ready, working-hour schedules adjusted and helplines staffed - and when will citizens actually hear about them?