BELGRADE, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- One man died in an open-air fire in the Serbian city of Smederevo on Monday as the country faced a surge in outdoor fires and braced for a severe heatwave, local media reported Tuesday.
The man died from carbon monoxide poisoning and burns, Serbia's national broadcaster RTS reported, citing local police.
Serbia's Sector for Emergency Situations carried out 201 interventions on Monday, including responses to 146 outdoor fires, according to RTS.
The Republic Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) warned Tuesday that temperatures could reach around 42 degrees Celsius in central and southern parts of the country from Thursday.
The agency said the renewed heatwave, combined with a prolonged rainfall deficit and strengthening southerly and southwesterly winds, would create extreme conditions for the outbreak and rapid spread of wildfires.
Serbia has endured repeated heatwaves since late June, interrupted only by brief periods of relief, while prolonged drought has increasingly affected agriculture, forests, river transport and electricity generation.
Following a short respite, temperatures will begin rising again Wednesday, with highs expected to range from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius nationwide between Aug. 20 and Aug. 25. Belgrade is forecast to see highs of 35 to 38 degrees.
Earlier this month, a major wildfire in the Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve, Europe's largest continental sandy terrain in Vojvodina, northern Serbia, burned around 3,500 hectares of pine forest after a previously extinguished blaze reignited amid strong winds.
The heatwave is also expected to worsen an already severe agricultural drought, particularly in northern and western Serbia and parts of the country's central regions.
Hydrological conditions are also deteriorating. Water levels on the Danube, Sava and Tisa near Titel are expected to remain below critical levels for navigation, while flows on several smaller rivers are approaching biological minimums. ■