BUDAPEST, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – An airport in eastern Hungary is temporarily closed due to runway damage caused by the scorching temperatures of a heatwave hitting the central European country, its operator said on Friday.
Despite a typically temperate climate, Hungary has been experiencing daily highs exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days, and temperatures could hit a record high over the weekend.
Due to the “continuous thermal stress”, the concrete surface of the runway at the city of Debrecen international airport has expanded, damaging two concrete slabs, the operator said in statement sent to AFP.
“The expansion joints between the concrete slabs of the runway are likely to have been designed decades ago for lower temperatures,” it said.
The defect was detected on Thursday late afternoon during an inspection, and it could take “up to a week” to be repaired “depending on weather conditions”, the statement said.
Flights have been diverted to the Budapest airport until Sunday at least, with an estimated up to 2,500 passengers affected by the closure.
“Never before in the history of the airport has a runway had to be closed for so long due to this type of runway incident,” the company told AFP by email.
Hungary is under the highest level of heat alert since July 7, which was extended on Friday until July 18.
Last month was the hottest June on record across the globe, the EU’s climate monitor, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said Monday.
Increasingly intense and frequent heat waves are a marker of climate change caused by humanity’s use of fossil fuels, according to scientists.