While most people may think Kosovo is the big problem of the moment, there are other worries in Serbia of a more pressing and immediate nature....

Heat wave still grips Serbia
23 July 2006 16:31 Source: B92
BELGRADE -- Serbia is, like much of Europe, in a heat wave.
Except up in the mountains, there isn’t a single location where the temperature stands at below 30 degrees.Similar weather conditions are expected to continue in the coming days, while a drop in the temperatures is expected at the end of July and the beginning of August. Emergency medical services have had their work cut out for them in the past couple of days. The doctors warn that everyone, even those in perfect health, should be mindful of the liquid intake – an adult needs between four and six liters a day in these weather conditions. This liquid quota can be made up of juices or fruit, but doctors stress that sodas and alcoholic beverages only create an illusion of quenched thirst. Advice to those who start feeling poorly: go to your doctor immediately – call the emergency medical services only if you absolutely must. Swimmers, either in pools, rivers or lakes, should also take care not to go into the water right after a meal. The Belgrade city emergency services say that the heat did not cause an increase in the number of calls yesterday. Nevena Ćirović, meteorologist, explains that the heat is generated in cloudless conditions, when the earth’s surface absorbs a huge amount of heat. “As the air is not heated by the sun, but by the surface, so the earth radiates heat vertically and upwards, and this whole mechanism makes Serbia very hot indeed”, Ćirović said. If the temperature reaches 40 degrees Centigrade, the government will have to declare a estate of emergency, something that already took place in Poland. The whole of central Europe suffers just like Serbia.
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