Czech news in brief for April 30: Thursday's top afternoon headlines

About 12 percent of the population, or one in eight Czechs, is affected by energy poverty, and one-third of households may also be considered at risk, Seznam Zpravy reports today. Now impacting twice as many Czechs as just three years ago, energy poverty refers to the situation where households struggle to pay their energy bills, significantly reduce their daily heating habits, or face arrears of payment.

Czechia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the Czech statistical office said as it published its first preliminary estimate of the year. The growth was largely supported by higher household consumption, while the employment rate also slightly increased by 0.7 percent compared to one year ago.

People living in the Czech Republic can look forward to a warm and sunny three-day weekend with summer temperatures reaching up to 26 degrees on Saturday and 28 degrees on Sunday, according to the latest forecasts by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. The weather will be slightly colder in the east and northeast of the country, and clouds, thunderstorms and showers can be expected at the beginning of next week.

Firefighters have been combating forest fires in several Czech regions as a persistent lack of rainfall and dry weather bring growing fears of drought throughout the country. "There aren't even any witches yet, but we already have our hands full with wildfires," the firefighting department said in reference to the bonfires traditionally lit on Witches' Night, on April 30.

Ještěd is one step closer to getting a new cable car after representatives from the Liberec region approved a change to the zoning plan, a bureaucratic hurdle which had to be cleared to extend the future cable car route. The cable car allowing visitors to ride to the top of Ještěd has been out of service since a tragic accident in 2021, and the new one should only be able to take passengers in 2029 at the earliest.