Hungary records hottest month, France confirms record-breaking summer

Hungary recorded its hottest month in history this August amid severe drought, while France officially confirmed its summer of 2026 as the hottest on record, meteorological agencies and officials said.

Data released by the Hungarian National Meteorological Service on Wednesday showed the national average temperature reached 24.9 degrees Celsius, making it both the hottest August and the hottest month recorded in Hungary since 1901.

The record-breaking heat was compounded by an intensifying drought.

Hungary's nationwide average precipitation for the month plummeted to just 15.6 millimeters, vastly below the 1991-2020 August average of 59.5 millimeters.

This historic scarcity of rainfall set a new low, marking it the fourth-driest August nationwide since 1901.

Meanwhile, French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut said on Thursday that the summer of 2026 was the "hottest summer on record" in the country since national measurements began in 1900.

The announcement came during the release of the official Summer 2026 Climate Assessment Report compiled by the national weather service Meteo-France.

In light of the mounting climate crisis, Barbut emphasized the urgent need to bolster national climate resilience.

She said that she will present a comprehensive multi-year investment framework to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu in the coming days to address long-term adaptation strategies.

Hungary records hottest month, France confirms record-breaking summer

Rare footage of a male golden pheasant courting a female was recently captured by infrared cameras in a nature reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Staff member of the Weishan Qinghua green peafowl provincial nature reserve in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture found the romantic courtship display when collecting footage.

With its plumage shimmering in a dazzling array of red, orange, golden-yellow, green and blue, the golden pheasant is a rare bird species unique to China.

In the footage, the male golden pheasant, adorned with plumage, was seen circling the female repeatedly in courtship performance.

Endemic to China, the golden pheasant is called "little phoenix" for its bright and eye-catching colors. It is a national second-class protected animal and the prototype of the Chinese saying "Golden Rooster Crows", meaning "the cock announces the arrival of dawn".

The golden pheasant is an omnivorous bird that primarily feeds on plant matter.

Rare golden pheasant spotted courting in Yunnan nature reserve