News

Eight people died in road accidents in Czechia over the past weekend, including five motorcyclists, police reported on X, describing it as one of the deadliest weekends in recent years.

So far this month, 18 people have died in road accidents, including 11 motorcyclists.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) has issued a heat warning for Monday when temperatures are expected to rise to as high as 36 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. High humidity will add to the discomfort.

Temperatures are expected to drop slightly in the following days before soaring again at the weekend. Due to the hot and dry conditions most of the Czech Republic remains at increased risk of wildfires.

A new study by Czech climatologists provides the most detailed estimate yet of how dangerously high temperatures could develop in Central Europe. It suggests that the coming decades could bring a significant increase in days when extreme daytime heat coincides with tropical nights, when temperatures do not fall below 20 degrees Celsius.

Such conditions pose a major health risk. Some regions could see more than seven such days a year. At present, the combination of hot days and tropical nights is relatively rare, averaging fewer than two days a year between 1995 and 2014.

The Health Ministry is facing a number of objections to a proposal that would extend access to assisted reproduction to women without a male partner. Under current law, artificial insemination is available only to heterosexual couples, a rule the ministry wants to change.

While some ministries do not oppose the proposal, the Labour and Social Affairs and Justice ministries are among those raising objections. The Labour Ministry has submitted seven major comments, arguing, among other things, that the state should not artificially create single-parent families.

Demand for assisted reproduction has almost tripled over the past 15 years. More than 5,000 children were born through assisted reproduction last year, the highest number on record.