Balkans hit by blackouts as heatwave persists

Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro suffer simultaneous power cuts as the region swelters in a heatwave.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessFuture of BusinessTechnology of BusinessWork CultureInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersBalkans hit by blackouts as heatwave persists16 hours agoBy Robert Plummer, BBC NewsShareAPTNSplit was one of several cities where traffic light failures caused gridlockFour Balkan countries suffered simultaneous power cuts lasting several hours on Friday as the region sweltered in a summer heatwave.

Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro and large areas of the Croatian coast were hit by the afternoon blackouts, brought on by surging demand for power after households switched on air-conditioning to combat the high temperatures.

In Bosnia and Croatia, traffic lights were knocked out, causing transport chaos in Sarajevo, Split and other big cities.

Suppliers said they had largely restored power by the evening, but were still trying to identify where the failure had occurred in the four countries' interlinked power systems.

The shutdowns were first reported at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), with even water pumps grinding to a halt in Montenegro's capital, Podgorica.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nn140qp4do

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