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Budapest recorded its highest-ever temperature Tuesday as extreme heat continued across Hungary, while Slovakia pledged to ensure that the country receives the maximum possible amount of Danube water amid critically low river levels.
The temperature reached 41.1 C in Újpest, setting both a new daily record for Budapest and a new absolute maximum for the capital, national weather service HungaroMet said.
The previous daily record was 39 C, measured on Gellért Hill on the same date in 1947. The former absolute Budapest record of 41 C had stood only since June 30, when it was measured in Lágymányos.
A new national daily maximum-temperature record was also set in Budakalász, north of Budapest, where the temperature reached 41.4 C. The previous record for Aug. 5 was 40 C, measured in Orosháza in 1905.
Temperatures also reached 41.2 C at Hortobágy Halastó and Derekegyház, while Mohora and Újpest recorded 41.1 C. Several dozen weather stations measured temperatures above 40 C during the afternoon.
The heat provided little relief overnight. The temperature on János Hill in Budapest fell to only 28 C by morning, setting a new record for the highest daily minimum temperature in both Budapest and Hungary.
The previous record of 26.6 C was measured in Lágymányos in 2017.
The reading also surpassed Hungary’s previous absolute record for the highest minimum temperature. That record, 27.9 C, had been held by Pécs Árpádtető since July 20, 2007.
Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said she had held talks by phone with Tomáš Taraba, Slovakia’s deputy prime minister and environment minister, who pledged to do everything possible to ensure that Hungary receives “the largest amount of Danube water possible.”
Orbán said she had asked Slovakia to facilitate the delivery of the maximum possible volume of water in an even distribution. Taraba made the commitment despite Slovakia also being affected by drought, she added.
“Hungary will receive the full amount of water due under international accords,” Orbán said.
“I wish to refute rumors suggesting that our neighbors could be blamed for low water levels on the Danube,” she added.
Orbán also thanked Taraba for promising that Slovakia would transfer part of any water surplus to Hungary if rainfall returned there earlier.
The government said the Danube’s water level was slowly rising and stood 7 centimeters above the minimum level at Paks. The situation at the Paks nuclear power plant was currently stable and reassuring, it added.
Slovakia had publicly confirmed that it was allowing the amount of water due to Hungary under international obligations to pass without obstruction, according to the government.
The government has adopted a comprehensive energy development plan in response to the lessons of the current energy crisis.
The plan includes expanding energy-storage capacity, modernizing the electricity network and launching wind-energy and geothermal investments.
The developments could be financed through Hungarian and European Union funding, as well as private capital, under structures that would allow the Hungarian state and affected municipalities to share in the proceeds, the government said.
Hungary managed to preserve the balance of its energy system in recent days and avoided a complete shutdown of the Paks nuclear power plant. However, the government warned that the coming hours and days would remain critical.
Drinking-water supplies remain stable apart from in a small number of settlements. Disaster-management authorities and the Hungarian Defense Forces are assisting in areas where additional support is required.
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