Thursday saw the highest temperature of the day recorded in Czechia: at 5 p.m., the thermometer at the Doksany weather station reached 40.1°C. According to meteorological data, that's three degrees above the previous daily record (37.1°C, set in 1994) and almost a degree and a half higher than the station's all-time July record (38.7°C, recorded on 28 July 2013).
The reading is not yet final, but if confirmed, it would match the current July temperature maximum for the whole of Czechia.
Second place for the day's heat went to the Plzeň-Bolevec station, where the thermometer showed 39.5°C — three and a half degrees above its daily record (36°C, set in 1994), though the monthly record (40.1°C, from 27 July 1983) held firm.
The 39°C mark was also passed at the Plzeň-Mikulka and Rokycany stations, both recording 39.2°C — a new monthly record for each location. At another 12 stations across the country, thermometers showed 38°C or higher.
Forecasters expect Friday's maximum temperatures to average between 35 and 39°C across most regions, with the hottest stations possibly topping 40°C again. An extreme heat warning is currently in effect nationwide. This heatwave could mark the second time this year that temperatures have climbed past the 40-degree threshold.
Back in late June, Czechia's all-time temperature record was broken twice within a single weekend. Before this summer, the record stood at 40.4°C. It was first surpassed on Saturday, 27 June, when Doksany recorded 40.9°C. The very next day, the same station registered a temperature a full degree higher — setting the current Czech record at 41.9°C.
Climatologists warn that human-caused climate change will make such heatwaves increasingly frequent, with both their duration and intensity set to rise.
Source: novinky.cz