A significant power outage has affected Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and much of Croatia's Adriatic coast, leaving residents struggling in the intense heatwave.

On Friday, temperatures in Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, soared to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Power distributor CEDIS attributed the widespread power disruptions to "network outages."

Montenegro's energy minister, Sasa Mujovic, informed local media that the power failure was a regional issue connected to the ongoing heatwave. "There has been a sudden increase in consumption because of high temperatures," Mujovic reported.

Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, and the cities of Banja Luka and Mostar also experienced power outages, as reported by local media.

Midheta Kurspahic, spokesperson for Bosnia and Herzegovina Electricity Company, stated, "The exact cause of the blackout is still unknown, but we presume it involves the overloading of the interconnector."

The Croatian coastal city of Split faced traffic disruptions after traffic lights failed, with state TV HRT noting ambulance sirens throughout the city. Croatia’s HEP power utility mentioned that an "international disturbance" had caused the outages in parts of the country, impacting several nations.

HEP indicated that the Croatian transmission system operator was analyzing the situation with neighboring countries' operators to determine the cause. The utility also took measures to restart production capacities to quickly restore supply.

In Albania, Top Channel TV reported power outages in the capital, Tirana, and several other towns.

Extreme Heatwave the Cause?

Operators began restoring power supply by Friday afternoon.

Al Jazeera’s Aida Hadzimusic, reporting from Sarajevo, highlighted that the precise reason for the regional blackout remained unclear.

"According to Croatian officials, it did not happen in Croatia. They suggested it might have occurred somewhere between Greece and Albania, though this is preliminary information. They warned it could take up to six months to uncover the official investigation results," Hadzimusic explained.

"Croatian officials also suggested the blackout might be linked to the extreme heatwave. Here in the Balkans, it's one of the hottest days, reaching almost 40C [104F], affecting thousands in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Albania. It's also impacting tourists in the Adriatic region during the peak tourist season."

Scientific consensus attributes the alarming rate of global warming to human-induced climate change, leading to frequent intense heatwaves. Increased temperatures also drive up reliance on energy-intensive air conditioning.