First the fires – now the droughts.
For a continent that sees itself as the very center of civilization, Europe lately has been demonstrating a remarkable lack of preparation for the basic facts of summer: if a heatwave hits, some countries have no air conditioning even in hospitals; due to a lack of basic forest management, mega-fires are out everywhere.
Add to that the fact that if an important river suffers from drought and its water level drops, several countries may lose their nuclear power generation.
We’re talking about the Danube.
Europe’s second-longest river flows 1,770 miles from the depths of Germany’s Black Forest out to the Black Sea.
Johan Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltzes through ten countries and four national capitals, and – as we learn now – plays a pivotal role in the energy security of central Europe.
Stranded boats, out-of-work fishermen as Danube hits record lows
The waters of the mighty Danube, Europe’s second longest river, have dropped in parts to a record low due to prolonged rain shortages and successive heatwaves that have parched the continent since May… pic.twitter.com/9N4X8Q2aLs
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 30, 2026
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is warning of an energy crisis after record-low Danube water levels forced the shutdown of the Paks nuclear plant.
The shuttered plant supplies nearly half Hungary’s power.
Euronews reported:
“Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has warned that the country could face an energy crisis as early as next week, after Paks – which supplies almost half of Hungary’s energy needs – was taken offline following record-low water levels in the Danube, which is used to cool the reactors. It is the first time the plant has been shut down completely since it opened 42 years ago.
‘This means 2,000 megawatts will be lost from Hungarian energy production from Monday at the latest, while demand for residential and public consumption continues to rise because of the heat’, Magyar said on Thursday evening.
The government has asked the public and businesses to cut energy use during the peak hours between 5pm and 10pm, urging people to avoid using air conditioning and washing machines in particular.”
The drought is exposing a weakness in nuclear power. Lack of water in the Danube has closed two reactors in Romania and one in Hungary. Similar problems have shut three in France. At least eight others in Europe are having to operate on reduced power.https://t.co/Z1RjLmqIh0
— Geoffrey Lean (@GeoffreyLean) July 30, 2026
In the meantime, neighboring Romania has declared a nationwide state of emergency throughout August.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that the decline in electricity production after record-low Danube river levels led to the shutdown of a nuclear power reactor.
Bloomberg reported:
“Romania will instate a state of alert in the energy sector throughout August as power production declines substantially because of the drought and record-low water level in the Danube river, interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said.
The Black Sea country will ask for support from neighboring Ukraine with power supply during peak hours and is also speeding up the connection to the grid of new renewable sources and battery storage units, Bolojan said at a press conference in Bucharest on Friday.”
Read more:
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