Heat Record Broken in Hungary

Saturday was the hottest day of the year in Hungary so far, the country’s National Meteorological Service (OMSZ) reported on Sunday.

Highs averaged between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius, with average temperatures exceeding 29-30 degrees Celsius over a large area, especially in the southeastern half of the country.

On Saturday, the hottest temperatures were recorded in Kiskunfélegyháza and Hódmezővásárhely, SE Hungary. In these places, temperatures rose to 41.5 degrees Celsius, breaking the daily record for the warmest day on record.

According to the OMSZ announcement on Sunday, the heat has now subsided, with temperatures "much more moderate" than the previous day, and the red warning has been removed from the danger map. However, a first level warning is still in force in most parts of the country and a second level warning in Bács-Kiskun, Békés, Csongrád-Csanád and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties in the eastern part of the country.

The forecast for Sunday is for highs between 30 and 36 degrees Celsius. By late evening, temperatures will drop to between 21 and 27 degrees.

The meteorological service added that the heat is expected to moderate further in the coming days, but they wrote that "the heatwave will not completely disappear."

It was also pointed out that the third-degree heat alert, which was originally issued from Wednesday until midnight on Saturday, was extended until midnight on Tuesday by the national health officer, so the highest heat alert is still in force.