The maximum air temperature record for this year was surpassed in the South Estonian towns of Elva and Valga Monday evening as the temperature hit 30.8 degrees Celsius in Elva and 30.5 degrees in Valga between 6 and 7 p.m.
As the rising trend in air temperatures continues, several more records are expected to be set in southeastern and central Estonia during Tuesday, Merike Merilain, head of the weather forecasts department of the Estonian Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, told BNS.
She said that at hydrometric stations situated on river floodplains and in other places where there was little air movement thermometers may give readings considerably above the official temperature high, but such measurings are non-standard and the records are not counted.
Estonia's absolute summer heat record dates from August 14, 1992 when 35.6 degrees Celsius was recorded in Võru.
On the opposite end of the scale, it was only last year that an all-time air temperature low for July 6 of four degrees above zero was measured in Tallinn and in Pärnu.
Baltic News Service