Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant will shut down completely for the first time in 44 years as the Danube's record-low water levels force the second-to-last reactor offline, Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced. The plant, which supplies roughly 40 percent of the country's electricity, had already reduced output after water temperatures climbed too high for cooling systems.
The crisis is spreading across Europe's river systems. The Rhine in the Netherlands has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded at Lobith, breaking the previous record set in August 2022. In Romania, both operating reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear plant have been shut down as the Danube drops to one-third of its average July level. Austria's hydropower production is running about 30 percent below its long-term average.
Italy has raised its drought alarm to "high" for the Po river basin, with more than 100 municipalities facing drinking water shortages. Belgium's Royal Meteorological Institute has issued orange heat warnings across most of the country, with temperatures expected to reach 36°C.