News

The ongoing heatwave in Czechia is affecting train operations, with several cases of overheated locomotives and failed air conditioning systems leading to delays. While high temperatures are straining locomotives and causing some disruptions, the railway infrastructure itself remains unaffected. However, storms and strong winds, rather than heat, pose a greater risk to the railway network. Rail operators are also adapting working conditions for employees, providing chilled water and air conditioning. Wednesday marked the hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching more than 37°C in Strážnice, South Moravia.

The Czech Ministry of Defence has denied that the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine is intransparent and that the artillery ammunition procured from outside the EU with funds from NATO allies is overpriced. The statement came in response to claims by Senator Lukáš Wagenknecht from the Pirate Party, who told a meeting of the Senate committee for oversight of public funds, that the ammunition procured was overpriced by CZK 1.4 billion. The ministry said this was false information adding that it was ready to provide details of the sales in a closed session. It accused the senator of harming Ukraine’s interests by questioning the initiative and endangering a further supply of badly needed ammunition to the country.

The Lány Forest Administration is planning to open a museum and start regular guided tours for the public as of 2025. The Lany Forest Administration is a contributory organization of the Office of the President, which manages almost 5,800 hectares of state land. According to its director, Michal Pernica, it will need to focus more on the quality of game farming, as the current numbers are too high and the animals are damaging vegetation. There are presently around 3,000 animals in the game reserve, the target in four years is around a quarter.

This July was the seventh warmest since the start of monitoring in 1961, the Czech Hydro-meteorological Office reported. On seventeen days of the month daytime highs exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. The average monthly temperature was 19.8 degrees Celsius. The hottest July to date was registered in Czechia in 2006 with an average monthly temperature of 21.3 degrees Celsius.