August 2026: extreme heat across North Macedonia, rainfall 67% below average
Nationwide temperatures ran well above the 1991–2020 average and monthly precipitation was 67 percent below normal.
August 2026 was exceptionally hot and largely dry across most of North Macedonia, according to measurements from national meteorological stations compared with the 1991–2020 climatological average.
Key figures and extremes
Mean monthly temperatures ranged from 21 °C in Berovo to 28.4 °C in Demir Kapija. On the level of the whole country, the average temperature in August was 2.7 degrees above the 1991–2020 period mean.
The highest recorded maximum temperature was 41.6 °C on 22 August in Gevgelija. The lowest night-time minimum was 5.7 °C, measured in Berovo on 16 August.
August included 27 tropical days and a prolonged heat wave that pushed monthly mean temperature values above the climatological norm nationwide.
Precipitation was below normal across most of the country. Monthly rainfall totals varied from 0 mm at Skopje – Zajchev Rid to 63 mm in Berovo, while the largest single-day total—44 mm—fell in Berovo on 24 August.
Despite the generally dry month, several localized severe storm events occurred with torrential rain, hail and strong, locally hurricane-force winds.
Compared with the long-term August average for 1991–2020, the measured national monthly precipitation was 67 percent lower than the climatological mean.
Photo: press material from the event
