Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, Paks, will be forced to shut down entirely for the first time due to record‑low water levels in the River Danube. Prime Minister Péter Magyar warned that the plant’s cooling system relies on Danube water, and the suction nozzles can no longer reach the river.

The shutdown threatens a critical energy supply on Monday as a severe heatwave pushes temperatures to 37°C for a week. Magyar urged citizens to limit high‑energy activities between 17:00 and 22:00 and hinted at a possible rotational shutdown regime if consumption could not be curbed.

Similar problems have hit Romania’s Cernavodă plant, where low Danube levels forced one of its two reactors offline. Climate‑change‑driven heatwaves are lowering river flows—July averages were 4,700 m³/s, now dropping to around 1,500 m³/s—and exposing ancient wrecks and even a mammoth jaw in the riverbed.

The Danube, spanning 2,857 km through 19 countries, shows how rising temperatures and reduced rainfall are stressing Europe’s water‑dependent infrastructure and ecosystems.