Climate researcher warns Central Hungary is warming too quickly

Europe is already warming twice faster than the global average, but central Hungary exceeds even that rate: over the past three decades, this region has been among the most rapidly warming parts of Europe, Diána Ürge-Vorsatz wrote.

The climate researcher elaborated on the above in a post on her Facebook page, where she also noted that when compared, for example, to Ireland or the northern parts of England, the rate of warming in this part of Hungary is five to seven times higher, which amounts to 3/4–1 degree per decade.

“This is a race towards madness…Our agriculture, our water supply (which is already running very low in that exact region!), and our economy—are all going to suffer greatly. This is very serious business. We need to urgently recognize that this is indeed a matter that cuts deep into our flesh, our wallets, and our health, and that here in the small country of Hungary, one of our most important priorities should be to urgently stop climate change,” she stated.

The CEU (Central European University) researcher and vice-chair of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) writes that it is possible to stop climate change and if action is taken in time, the increase in our well-being “may even outweigh the sacrifices.”

In recent days, an extreme heatwave has been affecting an increasingly large part of Europe, and the trend is set to continue for a while, since a heat dome has formed over Western Europe. This is essentially an atmospheric dome capable of creating and sustaining extremely hot weather for an extended period of time. The heat dome is moving further and further east, and is expected to bring temperatures nearing 40 degrees to Hungary beginning at the end of the week. Effective as of Saturday, the Chief Medical Officer has issued a Level 3 heat alert for the entire country based on forecasts from HungaroMet.

In light of the heatwave, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) has announced on its website that in the coming days, free water will be distributed to the passengers at the country’s busiest stations, including the most popular destinations around Lake Balaton. They reminded the public that no one should set out without a sufficient supply of drinking water or other hydrating beverages and asked passengers to look out for one another, paying special attention to elderly passengers and those traveling with small children.

Due to the extreme temperatures, as of Thursday, the National Directorate-General for Disaster Management has placed a nationwide ban on open fires.