The Bosnian capital and its surroundings were covered by snow on Monday, the first time in half a century snow has settled in Sarajevo at this time of year, as temperatures plunged to just above freezing.

"The snow was nine centimetres (over three inches) high at 0500 GMT. It is the first time in the past 50 years that we have snow that remained in Sarajevo in May," Dzenan Zulum of the national meteorological institute told AFP.

Zulum said snow had previously covered the capital in May in 1962 and 1953, adding that it also fell in Sarajevo in May 2005, but immediately melted.

Temperatures have plummeted in the past two days from 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday to 0.3 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Farmers have reported that many orchards had been damaged by the unseasonal cold snap, as snow also fell in central and eastern parts of Bosnia.

However forecasts for the next few days predict temperatures soaring back above 20 degrees Celsius.

Like much of Europe, Bosnia suffered a harsh winter, with snow falls up to two metres (over six feet) high.