What do you remember about this summer in Cyprus?

Record prolonged heat and drought, the Olympics and elections, beach thieves, failures of multimillion-dollar projects, archaeological discoveries - the "Bulletin of Cyprus" has collected the most significant events of the summer of 2024.

At the very beginning of June, the weather began to set not very pleasant records. The weather station in Athalassa recorded its highest June maximum temperature on record. And yet another orange warning created the longest period of consecutive warnings issued every day. And all summer we've reported heat waves, temperatures too warm for the region, and regular health warnings.

Due to this, water reserves on the island are significantly lower than last year. The first reason is the weather, and the second is cases of irrational use of water resources, which are recorded regularly.

The heat did not stop scientists from excavating and making discoveries.

The Department of Antiquities of the Sub-Ministry of Culture has announced the completion of an archaeological mission near the village of Makounda in the Polis Chrysochous area of ​​Paphos. Analysis of stone tools showed that the village was engaged in farming, carpentry and copper mining. The study of about 2,800 animal bones provided insight into the relationship between humans and animals and the diet of the time. People most often ate the meat of deer and pigs, also sheep and goats, and less often fish and poultry.

The burials of several children and adults dating from the Copper Age have been discovered at Chloraka. The settlement dates back to 3000 BC. e. The excavations are being carried out by researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands, the University of Cyprus and the Department of Antiquities.

An important archaeological discovery was made in the village of Erimi near Limassol by the scientific mission of the University of Siena. Scientists managed to discover a temple four thousand years old.

A new radiocarbon dating technique has helped pinpoint the year of the famous Kerynean ship's last voyage. The vessel is considered the best-preserved ancient ship discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The situation on the Cypriot beaches did not leave the pages of the media.

In June, dozens of cases of skin irritation were recorded in adults and children on the beaches of Limassol. Experts say sand fleas are highly active.

On the beaches of Larnaca and Limassol, women complained of strangers filming them with mobile phones without their consent. The police investigated these episodes and detained the suspects.

At the same time, beach thieves have become more active this season: episodes occurred in all coastal recreation areas.

Volunteers spoke out against parties on the beaches, claiming that it causes enormous harm to the ecology of the island.

26 people, including 14 minors, were taken to hospital after swimming at a hotel in the Paphos region. The complaints arose from chlorine vapor poisoning.

The need to equip schools with air conditioning was discussed at the end of the last school year, when children suffered from stuffiness and heat in classrooms. However, virtually nothing was done over the summer. The process began only at the end of August.

The new e-justice system, a multi-million euro project, has yet to take off despite months of bug fixing.

The project to renovate the marina and port of Larnaca has failed for the second time. After another failure, the Ministry of Transport took up its implementation.

The construction of the liquefied natural gas terminal in Vasiliko was one of the country's largest infrastructure projects. The project has not yet been abandoned, and the Minister of Energy reports that his department will look for options to complete the terminal.

The first Cypriot film on the Netflix streaming service immediately hit the top most watched. Find me falling was launched on July 19, 2024 in 30 languages ​​and received 14.4 million views in the first five days. After its success, the streaming service turned its attention to another product - a Cypriot series: Famagusta.

Cypriot researchers took part in the filming of a Euronews documentary. They talked about their work from the bottom of the sea: interviews were conducted underwater at a depth of five to 30 meters.

At the Olympic Games in Paris, Cyprus was represented in eight sports; the national team consists of 15 athletes. This Olympics became one of the most successful for the country.

Yachtsman Pavlos Kontidis won a silver medal.

Elena Kulichenko took seventh place in the high jump final - this was Cyprus's first appearance in the final of this discipline.

Judoka Sofia Asvesta took ninth place in the final standings, this is the best achievement in the entire history of Cypriot judo.

Gymnast Marios Georgiou took 6th place in the final performance on the horizontal bar. The athlete showed an ideal program, but an unsuccessful landing cost him third place. Georgiou became only the fourth Cypriot athlete to place in the top 6 in the Olympic gymnastics competition.

Cypriot athletes continue to compete at the Paralympic Games, which started in the French capital on August 28. Swimmer Carolina Pelendritu has already won silver in the 50m freestyle in the S11 category. She will also take part in the 100m breaststroke.  Maria Markou will compete in weightlifting, and Victor Pentaras will compete in athletics.

There were no major destructive fires on the island this summer. The forest department said it has found an approach to quickly bring the blaze under control.

In July, a financial pyramid was discovered in the country. Residents of Cyprus have become victims of MetaMax.

Blogger Fidias Panayiotou, who entered the European Parliament, is the main event of the 2024 Cypriot elections, which took place in early summer.

New local government structures were created to reduce operating and maintenance costs, provide citizens with higher quality services, and economic and administrative autonomy. 20 new municipalities were formed from the merger of 30 pre-existing municipalities and 50 village councils.

In July, Cyprus remembers the most tragic events of its recent history. Exactly 50 years have passed since July 15, 1974, when a coup d'état took place against the legitimate government of Archbishop Makarios. This led to the Turkish invasion and occupation of the northern part of the island, which began just five days after the coup on July 20. In the summer, commemorative events and exhibitions dedicated to this page of history were held on the island.

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