Europe heat wave fuels drought, fires and energy fears
A man walks on a sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, which emerged during the drought in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River between Romania and Serbia near Prahovo on…
A man walks on a sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, which emerged during the drought in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River between Romania and Serbia near Prahovo on Aug. 4, 2026. Darko Vojinovic/AP hide caption
LONDON — As Europe endures a relentless heat wave, the Danube's historic lows are disrupting nuclear power operations and revealing the far-reaching impacts of the continent's climate crisis.
Hungary came close to a forced shutdown of its only nuclear power plant overnight, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Tuesday morning, as low water levels in the Danube river threaten the country's energy supply.
"Around 1:30 a.m. we were a few millimeters away from completely shutting down the Paks Power Plant, but then the water level stopped falling and by morning it had risen 1.5 centimeters. The last turbine is currently operating safely," Magyar said .
A view of Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant from the Danube embankment in Dunaszentbenedek on July 31, 2026. Record-low water levels on the Danube, driven by extreme heat and drought, have threatened the plant's cooling system and highlighted Europe's worsening climate crisis. Janos Kummer/Getty Images hide caption
On Monday, Romanian authorities conducted a controlled explosion in the river to redirect cooling water to its sole operational nuclear plant, in images captured by AFP . Low water levels had already forced Romania to close two nuclear reactors.
A nuclear power plant in Bulgaria has so far not reduced its capacity , despite low water levels in the Danube. However, last week, a cruise ship in Bulgaria was forced to evacuate almost 200 tourists after it went aground near the port city of Vidin , according to the Associated Press.
The Danube's retreat has also exposed World War II relics. In Serbia, drought has brought dozens of Nazi-era German warships, scuttled during the 1944 retreat, back into view — a stark reminder of how dramatically the river has receded.
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