Extreme Weather Events Globally and in Hungary: Scientific Background for Authentic Journalism – Press Release from the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation and HungaroMet

Extreme climate and weather events are closely followed by the media as they have a direct effect on society, the economy and the environment. Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, storms and droughts, are becoming more frequent and stronger in many parts of the world as a result of human-caused climate change. However, not all events are becoming more likely, and changes are uneven across the world. Journalists often raise the question whether a specific event was caused by climate change. The Hungarian national meteorological service, HungaroMet Nonprofit Zrt., and the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation jointly released the Hungarian translation of the World Weather Attribution’s a guide for journalists that enables us to answer this question backed by science.
This guide introduces ‘extreme event attribution’ — the method of attributing (or not) the degree to which a weather event’s intensity and frequency was influenced by climate change. The first attribution study was written after the Western European heatwave under the auspices of the World Weather Attribution project, and the organisation has been publishing new studies since then. They observe events affecting large areas or having serious consequences and share the results in an accessible language, supporting journalists in their work. The HungaroMet and the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation jointly aim to help journalists share reliable knowledge with their audience, and they translated the WWA Guide Reporting Guide for Journalists into Hungarian, available on the website of HungaroMet.
According to the WWA’s annual report in 2025, heatwaves caused the most deaths among the extreme weather event types in 2025. It is estimated that as a result of high temperatures, 24,400 people lost their lives during the summer months in 854 European cities, which are home to 30% of Europe’s population. This heatwave also made Hungary affected by the extreme weather phenomena experienced worldwide. The Chief Medical Officer of Hungary issued the highest level heat alert on three occasions last year, on the basis of the forecasts of HungaroMet.
Due to increasingly variable climatic conditions, it is especially important to monitor Hungary’s climate status. The monthly, seasonal, and annual climate analyses of HungaroMet, as well as its seasonal short films, serve this purpose. These show that 2025 was the seventh warmest and the fourth driest year since 1901. Moreover, June 2025 was the second warmest and also the driest June of the past 125 years. By the end of that month, soil moisture conditions had become unfavourable across most of the country, and a prolonged drought developed in the Great Hungarian Plain. In the spring of 2025, agriculture was hit twice by severe frost. Thunderstorms also caused destruction multiple times, resulting in significant damage.
The media plays a key role in presenting the impacts of climate change and drawing attention to the need for emissions reduction and adaptation. The scientific background of HungaroMet and the mission of the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation ensure that the Hungarian translation of the guide serves as a reliable, accurate, and accessible source for the credible communication of climate extremes.