This summer was the hottest on record in Slovenia and so was August, while the highest September temperature was recorded on the first day of the month, according to the Environment Agency.

The average summer temperature deviated from the average in the 1991-2020 period by 2.5 degrees Celsius, Renato Bertalanič of the Environment Agency told the Slovenian Press Agency on 2 September.

The average was pushed up by warm nights and mornings as average daily lows were very high. Meanwhile, the average daytime high was the second highest on record.

Moreover, this summer did not see any cooler periods. Kredarica, the highest weather station at an altitude of over 2,500 metres, has not recorded sub zero temperatures since 14 June.

Record temperatures have not been recorded in the lowlands but rather at higher altitudes: in the Julian Alps, the Karavanke mountain range, the Pohorje Massif, in Notranjska and southeastern Slovenia, Bertalanič said.

The average August temperature was 3.3 degrees higher than the average between 1991-2020. Record temperatures were seen throughout the recent period: August was the 15th consecutive above-average month and the fifth consecutive month with record-high measurements in the past 12 months.

While this summer was hotter than average, the spring was the second warmest on record, while the winter and the 2023 autumn were the warmest on record, said Bertalanič.

The average temperature of the first eight months of this year was also above average, which leads the Environment Agency to expect that 2024 will become the warmest year on record.

The assumption is backed by the record September temperatures measured on the first day of the month. For the first time ever, values over 35 degrees Celsius were recorded in Slovenia in September.

The highest temperature was measured in Podnanos in the west, at 36.3 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees more than the September record measured in Dragonja in 1973. Temperatures over 35 degrees were recorded in four other places in the west: Bilje (36.1 C), Dolenje pri Ajdovščini (35.6 C), Godnje na Krasu (35.1 C) and Volče pri Tolminu (35.1 C).

High temperatures will persist above 30 degrees at least until 5 September, with afternoon storms possible in the mountains in the west, according to meteorologist Veronika Hladnik Zakotnik.

After that, the possibility of afternoon storms will increase across the country. Towards the weekend, temperatures will drop to between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.