Serbia
Climate change impacts
It takes only 93 days for the average Canadian to produce as much greenhouse gases as the average Serbian will produce over the course of the entire year. Therefore, April 3rd (93 days into the year) is "Climate Change Impacts in Serbia Day."
Serbia, like other countries in the region, is already dealing with a variety of environmental issues that will only be exacerbated by climate change. For example, air pollution related to the burning of fossil fuels is already a problem for the country. It is estimated that the combined annual damage from air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions may cost the country up to five per cent of GDP.
The impacts will only be more severe in the future. It is predicted that Serbia could experience an average warming of up to five degrees Celsius by the end of the century, higher than the expected global average. This warming will be greatest in the summer, and will be accompanied by a decrease in annual precipitation. This is expected to result in an increased risk of summer drought.
Soil quality is expected to deteriorate, and there will be more pressure on water resources. These factors, in combination with the risk of drought, do not bode well for Serbia's fruit industry, a mainstay of its economy.
For more information on the effects of climate change in Serbia, read Goteborg University's paper, “Serbia Environmental and Climate Impact Analysis.”
Story
"Today was the hottest day in Serbia ever since the temperature has been measured, 45 C.
If we we Serbs were truly interested in our survival as a nation, we'd be scrambling to get some modern hardware for dealing with ecological catastrophes. It's been ten years since Milosevic sold off our forest fire-fighting aircraft and pocketed the money.
We would talk together seriously about last year's massive floods throughout the Danube basin, about this year's deadly heat wave in Serbia and throughout the Balkans, about the state of emergency in our neighbor Greece, about the electricity shortages and blackouts throughout the regions, about the woods of our homeland set on fire.”
You can continue reading Jasmina Tešanović's story, "Serbia and the Flames" on BoingBoing.net.
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