Welcome to 2026
People in the Eastern Hemisphere – including Europeans – welcomed the New Year. 2026 has also started in some countries in the western part of the Earth. At At 10 p.m. Polish time, the Turks celebrated, an hour later – the Greeks. Most European capitals said goodbye to the old year together with Poles. An hour later – as the last countries in Europe – the Portuguese, British, Icelanders and Irish welcomed 2026. At 4 a.m. Polish time, the celebrations began, among others: Brazilians and Argentines. Two hours later, they will be joined by residents of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. When New Year's morning arrives in Poland, Americans will say goodbye to the old year. The last to enter in 2026 will be the uninhabited Baker and Howland Islands in the Central Pacific.
The New Year also started intensively for firefighters. In the first hour of 2026 alone, they were called to 333 reports of fires.
What were the firefighters' interventions on New Year's Eve?
What did Donald Trump announce on New Year's Eve?
What changes came into force on January 1?
What weather conditions does the forecast predict for the New Year?
What will happen on New Year's Day?
From the New Year, many changes will come into force – including tax regulations, excise duty and labor law regulations. From January 1, adults with disabilities who score at least 70 points on the support need scale can apply for a support benefit.
With the new year, the regulations for teachers have also changed – from now on, the group of teachers entitled to compensation benefits has increased, and teachers will also be entitled to remuneration for unworked overtime hours, if it was due to reasons beyond their control. In addition, the amount of the jubilee award for teachers for 40 years of work is increased.
With the New Year, new spelling rules for the Polish language came into force. Bulgarians are also facing changes – on January 1, Bulgaria became the 21st member of the euro zone. Cyprus, in turn, began the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, taking it over from Denmark.
What will the weather be like?
Snowfall on Thursday will still be a major disruption – but it should not be as intense as recently. The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management issued level 1 alerts for snowstorms for the following voivodeships: Warmian-Masurian, Podlaskie, Lublin, Masovian, Łódź and parts of Podkarpacie, Lesser Poland, Silesia and Lower Silesia. On New Year's Day, we will also be affected by wind, gusts of which can reach up to 70-80 km per hour. by the sea and in the foothill areas. The maximum temperature will range from 0 degrees Celsius in Podlasie to 4 degrees Celsius at the seaside.
