Meteorology is sometimes called the only field where you can keep working even if the experts are consistently wrong.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case in Hungary, where two of the country’s top weather officials were fired on Monday for inaccurate forecasts. The fireworks on St. Stephen’s Day, a national holiday, have now been postponed seven hours before they were scheduled to start.
The night turned out to be calm.
On Sunday, Hungary’s national weather service, Orszagos Meteorologiai Szolgalat, issued an apology, saying Saturday’s weather was the least likely scenario based on its model. “Unfortunately, this element of uncertainty is part of our job and we tried to communicate this.” The agency said on its Facebook page.
By Monday, the head of the Meteorological Agency and his deputy were dismissed by Hungary’s Minister of Innovation, Laszlo Parkovic, who had held high positions under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
On Tuesday, the service issued a separate statement on Facebook, saying it was a professional agency and not a political agency. He said he did his best to prepare forecasts based on the date and time.
St. Stephen’s Day celebrates the role of King Stephen I in founding Hungary when he became king in 1000 AD.
“Despite the significant decision pressures, our colleagues at OMSZ are doing their best and it is our firm position that we will not be held responsible for any alleged or actual damages.”
A senior official at the National Meteorological Service, Mihay Shukus, said he could not comment beyond the statement because the meteorological service needed permission from the Ministry of Innovation and Technology to comment to journalists.
The Hungarian government said the director and deputy director of the National Meteorological Service would be dismissed regardless of the August 20 forecast.
“The OMSZ’s forecast for August 20 was spectacularly wrong, but the dismissal is based on long-term dissatisfaction,” Minister Gergely Gulyas, who oversees the prime minister’s office, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “This wasn’t the last straw. It was already straw after the last straw.”
The fireworks show along the Danube is intended to mark 1000 years. From the founding of Hungary to the present, according to the event’s website. It has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday at 9:00 PM. The weather service predicts more rain.