Dozens of meteorologists from around the world have shown solidarity with their Hungarian colleagues who were laid off after a storm they had forecast failed to reach Budapest. Hungary’s National Day on August 20.
“In general we report on extraordinary weather events, but now it was not an atmospheric phenomenon that caused a shock, but the news that two Hungarian colleagues have lost their jobs simply for doing their homework well“, they say in a joint statement published on Facebook.
Meteorologists from Spain, France, Italy, Colombia, Uruguay and Kenya, among others, thus allude to the fact that the Ministry of Technology and Industry has fired the two directors of the Hungarian National Meteorological Service (OMSZ) after a fireworks display had to be canceled because the service forecast heavy storms for the night of August 20.
Although the statement from the Ministry of Technology and Industry has not justified the dismissal, the press and local politicians take it for granted that the reasons were related to that wrong forecast that spoke of an 80% chance of storms.
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International meteorologists, members of the “Climate without Borders” group, assure that “sometimes the least likely happens” and recall that the OMSZ did what it had to do in that situation.
The executive of the ultranationalist Viktor Orbán wanted to celebrate the national holiday with “the largest fireworks in Europe”, which after the cancellation will take place this Saturday.