Romania shuts nuclear plant, Hungary dams dry Danube River

Romania shut down its lone nuclear power plant on Thursday, a rare move amid the drought that has caused record lows on the Danube River and other major waterways in Europe .

The Danube is the sole source of cooling water for the Cernavoda plant, which usually generates around one-fifth of Romania's electricity.

The power station has only been shut down once before, in 2023, again as a result of drought and a hot summer .

Meanwhile, Hungary was scrambling to dam the Danube, as it tries to keep its Paks nuclear power plant at least running at the minimal levels that it has maintained in recent days, which are far below capacity.

Romania's Nuclearelectrica company had already shut one of the two reactors at Cernavoda last month.

On Thursday, it said it needed to shut the second "because of the significant and ongoing drop in the water level of the Danube River."

The company tried earlier this month , with help from the Navy, to improve the plant's chances of staying operational.

Most memorably, it blew up a rocky outcrop exposed by the low water levels and strategically deposited the rocks on the riverbed in a bid to direct more water to Cernavoda.