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The previous record was 4.3 C, measured in Csákvár, western Hungary, in 1962, state news wire MTI noted.
The unusually cold morning followed strong northerly and northwesterly winds across much of the country on Wednesday. Winds gradually weakened during the evening and conditions became calm overnight in most areas, allowing temperatures to fall below 10 C by dawn at several locations.
The record comes after a period of extraordinary weather extremes in Hungary. Only days earlier, the country was gripped by a severe heatwave that culminated in the highest temperature ever officially measured in Hungary.
On June 30, temperatures reached exactly 42 C in Szécsény, breaking the previous national absolute maximum of 41.9 C recorded in Kiskunhalas on July 20, 2007, according to HungaroMet.
The June 30 reading was the highest temperature recorded in Hungary since official measurements began. The heatwave had already broken a series of daily records before reaching its peak.
Budapest also set an absolute heat record during the extreme spell, with temperatures reaching 41 C in Lágymányos.
Hungary’s record heat formed part of a wider extreme heatwave that affected large parts of Europe in late June.
The event was associated with a persistent high-pressure atmospheric system that trapped and drew hot, dry air across western and Central Europe. Temperature records were broken in several countries, with numerous locations recording values above 40 C.
In Hungary, the prolonged heat placed pressure on water supplies, transport infrastructure and emergency services. Railway operators monitored track temperatures and introduced speed restrictions on several lines, while water supply disruptions were reported in more than 100 locations during the peak of the heatwave.
The extreme temperatures also increased vegetation fire risks and electricity demand before a cold front brought thunderstorms, strong winds and a sharp drop in temperatures.
The record-breaking heat followed an exceptionally difficult spring for Hungary, particularly for agriculture.
The country entered the summer after a severe spring drought, with persistent precipitation shortages and depleted soil moisture affecting large areas.
Eastern Hungary and parts of the Great Plain were particularly exposed to water shortages, with significant moisture deficits in deeper soil layers threatening crop development and yields.
The drought also intensified a broader debate over Hungary’s water management system and its traditional emphasis on rapidly draining excess water from the landscape.
Government bodies, water management authorities, environmental organizations and researchers have increasingly called for greater water retention, wetland restoration and irrigation development as repeated drought years place growing pressure on groundwater reserves and agriculture.
The combination of dry soils and extreme summer heat can also amplify temperature extremes, as less available soil moisture means less energy is used for evaporation and more contributes directly to heating the land and the air above it.
The rapid shift from prolonged spring drought and Hungary’s all-time temperature record of 42 C to an early July morning of just 3.9 C provides a striking illustration of the weather fluctuations experienced by the country in 2026.
The Szikszó measurement does not mean that the wider warming trend has reversed. The cold record resulted from specific overnight weather conditions after northerly winds weakened and skies allowed strong nighttime cooling.
However, the contrast is unusually sharp. Within less than two weeks, Hungary recorded both its highest temperature since measurements began and a daily minimum temperature record that had stood since 1962.
HungaroMet said calm overnight conditions following Wednesday’s strong northerly and northwesterly winds allowed temperatures to drop particularly rapidly, ultimately breaking the decades-old July 9 cold record.
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