Budapest’s Green Panel Programme could provide an effective response to climate challenges by combining urban greening with building renovations designed to provide passive cooling, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Sunday.
In a post on Facebook, Karácsony cited a survey conducted between 2013 and 2025 which found that Budapest experienced a positive urban heat island effect on 24 of the 32 days examined, or 75 per cent of the cases. The city was between 0.5 and 2.6 degrees Celsius warmer than the surrounding areas.
The survey also found significant differences in surface temperatures across the capital. The lowest average temperatures were recorded in Districts II and XII, while the highest were measured in Districts VI and VII, with a difference of 6.8 degrees Celsius between the two extremes at the same time of day.
The Danube was found to cool its surroundings by 6.6 degrees Celsius, while the airport increased temperatures by around 5 degrees, Karácsony said.
He warned that air conditioning, one of the main responses to rising temperatures, also has environmental and energy costs. Citing US modelling, he said waste heat from air-conditioning systems had increased average nighttime air temperatures by more than 1 degree Celsius at some locations, intensifying the nighttime heat island effect and further increasing demand for cooling.
According to Hungary’s 2022 census, air-conditioning units are installed in 27 per cent of homes nationwide. In Budapest, District XIII has the highest rate, partly because of its newer housing stock, while fewer homes have air conditioning in the much hotter Districts VI and VII, where the buildings are generally older.
Karácsony also pointed to the impact of heatwaves on electricity consumption. During the heatwave at the end of June, Hungary’s daily electricity demand was 23 per cent higher than in the days immediately preceding the heatwave.
He said the main bottleneck was increasingly at the urban level. Because the heat island effect prevents cities from cooling sufficiently at night, demand for air conditioning remains high after sunset, when solar panels are no longer generating electricity. This can increase reliance on more expensive gas-fired generation, he said.
Karácsony said the figures underlined the need to strengthen Budapest’s ability to adapt to extreme heat. In public spaces, this could involve planting trees, expanding green areas and using artificial shading to reduce heat exposure, while residential buildings could be made more resilient through insulation.
‘The figures underlined the need to strengthen Budapest’s ability to adapt to extreme heat’
However, he noted that insulation alone does not necessarily prevent overheating. After several consecutive hot nights, walls, ceilings and household furnishings can themselves become heat-storing masses. For insulation to be fully effective, he said, it should therefore be combined with passive cooling measures such as light-coloured or green roofs.
Karácsony said a comprehensive building renovation programme could provide a useful and important way of using European Union funding, adding that Budapest had already begun such efforts through its Green Panel Programme.
He said that when the city and the government eventually discuss the continuation of the programme or a new municipal rental housing construction scheme, they would also need to address the complex challenges of adapting to climate change.
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