Hungary sacks weather service chief after storm warning forces fireworks cancellation

ANKARA

Hungary sacked the head of the National Meteorological Service and her deputy after a storm warning prompted authorities to call off a major fireworks display on Saturday, local media reported on Tuesday.

Technology and Industry Minister Laszlo Palkovics, exercising the right to manage the organization, dismissed Kornelia Radics, the service head, and her deputy Gyula Horvath, said the Telex news outlet.

It stressed that the decision came after the weather service had forecast thunderstorms and wind gusts in the capital Budapest, which prompted the cancellation of Saturday’s fireworks on a national holiday.

Speaking to the news outlet, Rita Nagy-Kurunczi, a senior meteorologist, said that there was a chance of thunderstorms developing until the very last minute, but it remains to be investigated why the forecast did not come true.

Meanwhile, in a statement, 16 department heads of the weather service hailed the professionalism of Palkovics and Radics and decried the “political pressure” on the operations of the service.