A severe European drought has driven the River Danube to a record low, crippling Hungary’s only nuclear power plant and triggering an energy crisis in the country. The 2-gigawatt Paks facility, which normally generates about half of Hungary’s electricity, was forced to slash its output to just over 10% of capacity after the river fell below the level of its suction nozzles, which require water for cooling. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar warned that the plant—which provides around 40% of the nation’s annual power—would face its most critical period in the coming days, with temperatures expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius. He stated that „the power grid, our public services and ourselves will all come under enormous strain,” while noting that the shutdown is „unavoidable” under strict security protocols. The operator has indicated the closure could last for weeks, potentially costing the economy between £235 million and £471 million due to surging electricity import prices.
The crisis has sent ripple effects through Hungary’s industrial sector, with energy minister István Kapitány revealing that major corporations including Hungarian energy group MOL, South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI, German automaker Audi, and Japanese parts supplier Denso have all voluntarily reduced power usage. The government’s appeal for conservation has already cut demand by 400 megawatts, but mandatory restrictions could be implemented as early as Monday if conditions worsen. Beyond the nuclear plant’s shutdown, the falling water levels have wreaked havoc on shipping and tourism, while more than 100 cities and villages, including parts of Budapest, have implemented water-use restrictions. The historical lows have also revealed startling sights, including sunken Nazi warships from World War II in the Serbian section of the river near Prahovo, where an estimated 200 shipwrecks now pose navigation hazards costing Serbia approximately £4.3 million annually to manage.
The drought has cast a shadow across the broader European continent, with Greece battling devastating wildfires that have forced thousands of evacuations and led to the deaths of two helicopter crew members in a midair collision. The European Commission reports that wildfires have scorched nearly half a million hectares across the EU this year, releasing almost 20 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. In France, the largest wildfire in the country’s modern history has displaced 224,000 people and continues to burn within a 162-square-mile perimeter, while Spain has also seen significant destruction. The fires have strained emergency services and public infrastructure across the continent, with Greece experiencing particularly severe conditions—more than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the Athens region alone, and the government has made arrests in connection with suspected arson and negligence. The combination of record heat, prolonged drought, and industrial disruption paints a stark picture of the challenges facing Europe as climate-related extreme weather events become increasingly frequent and severe.
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