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The Ústí Regional Court has upheld a complaint by environmental organisations and revoked the Počerady coal-fired power plant’s exemption from the mercury discharge limit. The decision is binding and environmentalists say it will now have to stop operations. The emission exemption allows power stations and CHP plants to enter into a greening scheme and meet the new EU limits, applicable since 17 August 2021, at a later date. According to the environmental organisations which filed the complaint, there is no risk that there would be a shortage of electricity in the Czech Republic due to the shutdown.

The number of tick-borne diseases has seen a steep rise this year with roughly 1,900 cases of Lyme disease reported by the end of June, which is the highest number in the last decade, according to data from the State Institute of Health. There have been 362 cases of tick-borne encephalitis so far. Both diseases can also have lasting effects, including paralysis of the limbs or impaired memory in serious cases. Last year doctors registered 3,270 cases of Lyme disease and 509 cases of encephalitis. According to a survey by Czech scientists, there are more ticks in city parks than in forests, with one in four transmitting Lyme disease.

Meteorologists have warned the public about an approaching heatwave in the coming days when temperatures are expected to hit 39 degrees Celsius at the start of next week. The rest of this week should see temperatures in the 30s and as high as 32 on Sunday. Night temperatures will not drop below 20 degrees Celsius.

People are being advised to stay out of the sun, avoid physical exertion and increase the intake of liquids. The ill and elderly are particularly at risk of overheating and dehydration, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute warned.

Miroslav Bernat, a war veteran and one of the last surviving participants in the 1944 Battle of the Dukla Pass has died at the age of 100. Bernat was a Volhynian Czech who joined the Czechoslovak foreign army in March 1944. He was wounded in the Battle of Dukla and later helped liberate Prešov a Liptovský Mikuláš in eastern Slovakia. He celebrated his 100th birthday on February 15, 2024.