Eastern European countries brace for baking weekendpublished at 16:59 BST 23 June
Nick Thorpe
Central Europe correspondent in Budapest
Image source, EPAImage caption,
One expert says Hungary’s Lake Velence, a popular holiday spot, could shrink to a muddy puddle before the end of summer
The heatwave now over Spain, France and Italy is moving eastwards, and eastern European countries are bracing for a baking weekend, with temperatures expected to touch 39C on Sunday on the Great Hungarian Plain.
One early casualty is Lake Velence, an 11km-long (6.8 miles), 3km-wide lake south of Budapest, which is a popular holiday resort.
Water levels are now down to a record low of 52cm, down from the former average water level of 1.5m.
By the end of summer, the lake may be reduced to a muddy puddle at 30cm, according to Zsombor Boromisza, professor of landscape conservation.
The lake is slowly splitting into several smaller basins, with fish die-offs and disaster tourism.
About 200,000 to 300,000 people visit the lake each summer, though numbers are hard to verify as many are day-trippers.
