From thick minus to unbearable heat, Smederevo Palanka it is not only the town that was once recognized for the industrial complex "Goša" and the fact that "Kokta" was bottled there for years. This town on the edge of Šumadija has had a much more unusual reputation for decades.
It is the place where the lows and highs are recorded temperature in Serbia.
Located at the confluence of two rivers, Kubršnica and Jasenica, in the natural basin of the Danube District, about eighty kilometers south of Belgrade, Smederevska Palanka has a geographical position that makes it an almost ideal "testing ground" for temperature extreme.
Surrounded by gentle hills, without strong air currents, it retains heat in the summer and cold air in the winter.
Among the record holders in the cold
For years, Smederevska Palanka held the title of the place with the lowest temperature recorded in Serbia. On Christmas Day 1947, even -32,6 degrees Celsius was measured in that city, a record it held until it was later taken over by Sjenica.
The lowest temperature of -39.5 degrees Celsius was measured on January 13, 1985 in Karajukića Bunari on the Pešter Plateau.
Nevertheless, Smederevska Palanka remained a symbol of extreme cold. On Friday, January 9, 2025, together with Sjenica, it was the coldest place in the country, with a measured -17 degrees.
And the warmest place
On the other side of the thermometer, Palanka is even more impressive. It has held the absolute record for the highest ever measured air temperature in Serbia for 18 years.
That July 24, 2007, the mercury in the thermometer rose to an incredible 44,9 degrees Celsius. That data still stands today as the national maximum temperature.
The reasons for such extremes lie in the combination of continental climate, position in the basin and frequent temperature inversions.
The proximity of rivers additionally affects air humidity, which increases the subjective feeling of both cold and heat.
Among the record holders in the summer of 2025.
Even in recent times, Smederevska Palanka does not leave the top of the statistics. During the summer of 2025, it was once again among the places with the highest temperatures in Serbia, confirming that its reputation is not only a part of meteorological history, but also the everyday life of its inhabitants.
And they manage both in winter and summer as they know how. Summers are often accompanied by water shortages. In a city where icy Christmases and hellish July days are remembered, the locals have learned to live with weather extremes.
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