In mid-July, when most of Macedonia is looking for shade and cold water, snow fell on Šar Mountain. On Popova Šapka and above it, at an altitude over 2,000 metres, the temperature dropped below zero and the peaks turned white again. Believe it or not - the calendar says summer, and the mountain says otherwise.

The phenomenon was confirmed by meteorologist Slavčo Poposki. A cold, damp front from the north pushed temperatures far below the average for the last third of July - in places more than 10 degrees below what is usual for this period. While the cities battled the mugginess, on top of Šar it felt like winter.

Swings like this aren't an everyday thing, but they aren't as rare as they look either - in the highest reaches, when a cold air front rolls in, snow is possible even in the warmest months. Still, the sight of white peaks in the middle of summer is a reminder that the weather is growing ever more unpredictable, and extremes - from heatwaves to unexpected cold - ever more frequent.

While some were packing the lake beaches, others were posting photos of a snowy Šapka. In one and the same day Macedonia had both summer and winter - depending only on what altitude you were standing at.