On Saturday night, the banks of the Danube river in Budapest was set to glow with what was promised to be the largest fireworks display in Europe to celebrate Hungary's millennial anniversary. But then the National Meteorological Service (NMS) forecasts thunderstorms and heavy winds across the city, necessitating the cancellation of the fireworks. Thing is, the forecast turned out to be wrong and the weather was fine. As a result, the Hungarian government's chief meteorologist and her deputy are now looking for new jobs. From The Guardian:
The NMS agency apologised on Sunday, citing "a factor of uncertainty inherent in the profession"[…]
[Those who had opposed the fireworks to begin with had] called for the display to be cancelled, denouncing it as "a useless waste of money" at a time when the country's economy is struggling, and when Ukraine is at war. A petition calling for a cancellation gained nearly 200,000 signatures.
On Sunday, pro-government media criticised NMS for their forecast. Online newspaper Origo accused the agency of giving "misleading information about the extent of the bad weather, which misled the operation team responsible for security".
