Debrecen at noon on June 30
New records were set in Hungary during the prolonged heatwave: on Monday, the absolute summer electricity consumption peak was broken, while on Tuesday the highest temperature ever recorded in the country was registered.
Based on verified data, in the early evening hours of Monday, the load on Hungary’s electricity system reached 7,488 megawatts (MW). This exceeded the previous summer record by 452 MW, Hungarian transmission system operator MAVIR said.
The previous absolute summer peak in Hungary was recorded on July 16, 2024, when the maximum system load reached 7,036 MW.
On Tuesday, domestic electricity consumption also exceeded the 2024 summer record, but it did not reach the absolute summer peak measured on Monday. During the 15-minute interval around 7 p.m., a gross system load of 7,352 megawatts (MW) was recorded, which is 136 MW lower than Monday’s all-time highest summer peak of 7,488 MW.
Winter consumption peaks in Hungary are generally higher, but there have been cases when summer peak load exceeded winter values: in 2015, for instance, the summer peak was 6,457 MW, while the winter peak was 6,447 MW.
The highest ever recorded value in Hungary was registered on January 13 this year, when the electricity system load reached 8,182 MW.
Summer peak electricity consumption in Hungary (2021–2025). Source: MAVIR/Nemzeti Archívum/MTI
The extreme heat was reflected not only in energy consumption but also in meteorological records. In recent days, a series of daily temperature records were broken, and at the peak of the heatwave the absolute national heat record was also surpassed.
A new national heat record was set on June 30, when the heatwave affecting Europe peaked in Hungary, meteorological service HungaroMet announced.
A temperature of 42°C was measured in Szécsény, exceeding the previous record of 41.9°C recorded in Kiskunhalas on July 20, 2007 by one-tenth of a degree.
Not only the absolute maximum temperature record was broken, but also the daily maximum temperature record: previously, on this day in 2022, the highest temperature measured was 39.6°C in Berettyóújfalu, which was significantly surpassed by the Szécsény reading.
Pedestrians in the heat at a misting station in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos Square on June 22, 2026. Photo: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
In the capital, a new record was also set: 41°C was measured at Budapest Lágymányos, breaking the previous Budapest record of 40.7°C set in 2007 (Pestszentlőrinc). This also broke the daily record, as on the same day in 2022 the highest temperature was 38.2°C.
Night-time minimum temperatures also remained extremely high: in Siófok, the temperature only dropped to 26.9°C, which is a new national record for the highest daily minimum temperature. The previous record was 24.7°C, recorded in 2022 at Budapest Lágymányos.
A new nighttime record was also set in the capital: at Budapest János-hegy station, the lowest temperature was 26.6°C, also exceeding the previous record of 24.7°C.
Via MTI, met.hu; Featured image: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
