Rijeka 18 Days Above 35°C: A Comparison with 2012
The mean maximum temperature during the 2026 heatwave is nearly 5°C higher than in the 'legendary' summer of 2012, with deviations reaching 10.7°C.
The mean maximum temperature during the 2026 heatwave is nearly 5°C higher than in the 'legendary' summer of 2012, with deviations reaching 10.7°C.
Rijeka is very likely to record its 18th consecutive day with a maximum daily air temperature above 35°C today, August 16, 2026, according to data from the Istramet meteorological service. How extreme this is is best illustrated by a comparison with the summer of 2012, which many remember as endlessly hot and dry.
Between July 30 and August 16, 2012, temperatures in Rijeka never exceeded the 35°C threshold. This year, that threshold has been surpassed every single day.
According to data from the Ogimet source processed by Istramet, the mean maximum daily temperature over the 18-day period in 2026 stands at an extreme 37.1°C. During the same period in 2012, it was 32.2°C, a difference of nearly five degrees.
The highest temperature of the current heatwave was reached on August 3, 2026, at 39.9°C. The maximum in 2012 during the same period was 34.7°C.
The largest deviation was recorded on August 13. While a pleasant 27.9°C was measured in 2012, this year's value soared to 38.6°C, a difference of +10.7°C.
According to measurements around 6 PM, it remains very warm in Istrian towns. Buzet and Pazin recorded 34°C, Pula and Medulin 31°C, and Poreč, Umag, and Labin 30°C.
In Pula at 6:10 PM, with 31°C, relative humidity was 39%, while in Medulin at 6 PM, it was also 31°C but with 60% humidity. Buzet was the hottest among Istrian towns at the same time.
Photographer Srećko Niketić captured scenes of the heat, and the data clearly show how drastically climatic conditions have changed in just 14 years.
