Meteorology is sometimes considered the only field where professionals can be consistently wrong and still keep their jobs.
But that didn’t seem to apply in Hungary on Monday, when the country’s two top weather officials were fired after an inaccurate forecast. Their predictions of severe weather conditions in Budapest prompted the government to postpone the fireworks display for the national holiday, Saint Stephen’s Day, seven hours before it was scheduled to begin on Saturday.
The night turned out to be calm.
On Sunday, Hungary’s national meteorological agency, Orszagos Metnticlogiai Szolgalat, issued an apology, saying Saturday’s weather was the least likely scenario based on its models. “Unfortunately, this element of uncertainty is part of our expertise, and we have tried to communicate this as well.” the agency said on its Facebook page.
On Monday, the head of the weather service and her deputy were fired by Hungary’s Innovation Minister Laszlo Palkovics, a top official under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
On Tuesday, the service released another statement on Facebook, saying it was a professional organization and not a political one. The agency said it had done its best to prepare forecasts, based on the planned date and time of the fireworks, using information available to its experts.
Saint Stephen’s Day celebrates the role of Stephen I, who became king in AD 1000, in the founding of the Hungarian state.
“Our firm position is that despite significant decision-making pressure, OMSZ colleagues have done their best and are not liable for any actual or alleged damages, ” the agency said, using the agency’s acronym.
Mihaly Szucs, a senior official with the national meteorological agency, said he could not comment beyond the statement because the weather agency needed permission from the Department of Innovation and Technology to comment for journalists.
In a statement, the Hungarian government said that the president and vice-president of the national meteorological agency would be fired regardless of the forecast on August 20.
“While OMSZ’s predictions for August 20 were spectacularly wrong, layoffs were based on longer-term dissatisfaction,” the statement said. “This isn’t the last straw – it’s the last straw.”
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The fireworks display along the Danube will take place at 9pm on Saturday and aims to document the history of thousands of years that have passed since established Hungary to dateaccording to the event’s website.
