Tatabánya, Hungary, addressing the impacts of urban heatwaves and forest fires with alert measures

Hungary's continental climate has hot summers (extremes about 42C) and low humidity, with roughly 600mm average annual rainfall and frequent showers alongside cold winters. Heatwaves have become more frequent, longer and more intense over 1961-2010, and drought frequency, duration and severity have increased; RCP4.5/8.5 projections indicate these trends will continue. Tatabanya faces heatwave and urban-heat-island risk plus wildfire risk from extreme temperature and drought, threatening health (including via air pollution), alongside increasing heavy-rain and flood risk.

Under its Local Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, Tatabanya implemented (i) a local heat- and UV-alert system, (ii) the Smart Sun Educational Programme, and (iii) fire-brigade capacity measures, aiming to raise public awareness of heat/UV health risks, reduce exposure, prioritise prevention over reactive response, prevent wildfire damage/health impacts/biodiversity loss, and prevent firefighter casualties from inadequate training.

When extreme heat or UV is forecast, the Hungarian Meteorological Service and National Public Health Office alert local authorities, who relay information (updated every 30 minutes) to citizens via local radio, TV, the city website, Facebook, mail and fax to about 150 institutions, employers and health organisations, cascading further to workers and their contacts. The Smart Sun Educational Programme targets vulnerable groups (infants/parents, youth, elderly, ill) with practical self-protection advice (hydration, shade, clothing) and informs employers of outdoor-worker protections (water, clothing, a 1-hour-work/30-minute-rest regime). Fire-brigade capacity building includes specialist training and equipment, improved forest road networks for emergency access, watchtowers/camera systems for early fire detection, a fire weather index system, and strengthened disaster-management response, with co-benefits for storm/flood response.

The Local Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan were funded through the municipal Environmental Education and Climate Change budget, with staff from the Municipality of Tatabanya and the Sociological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 2009, HUF 4,000,000 (approx. 15,000 EUR) funded a full-time climate manager and implementation; ongoing annual budgets of HUF 4-6 million have continued, supplemented by other organisations. Over the last 8 years (to 2020), the heat alert averaged 3-5 activations per year; the UV alert activated once yearly except twice in 2012. The Mayor's Office reports growing citizen awareness of appropriate heatwave/UV behaviour.

Success factors include the wide network of about 150 informed institutions cascading alerts to virtually the whole population via media, an easy-to-activate alert procedure enabling rapid readiness, and the Sociological Research Institute's design input, which built in-house expertise later shared with other Hungarian municipalities and the Climate-Friendly Cities Association.