Drying river has Hungary nuclear site in mothballs

Hungary has been forced to shut down its sole nuclear power plant for the first time in its 44-year history due to the record-low water levels of the River Danube.

The decision was taken late on Saturday after the Danube's already-low water level dropped again, said Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar.

"Due to the further drop in the Danube's water level, one of the last two generating units at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant will be shut down at 1:30 am," Magyar wrote on X. "As a result, the plant's output will fall to just 240 megawatts, and tomorrow it will be completely shut down for the first time in 44 years."

The facility, which produces more than 40 percent of Hungary's electricity and is located about 120 kilometers south of the country's capital city Budapest, draws Danube water to cool its reactors.

In some stretches, the Danube has dropped to record lows after months of below-average rainfall and back-to-back heat waves since May.

The national water authority forecast that the Danube, which runs from Germany to the Black Sea, will decline further in the coming days.

Officials recorded the Danube's level in Budapest at 23 centimeters on Wednesday, far below the previous record low of 33 centimeters set in 2018.

The Paks nuclear plant had already reduced output earlier in the week, with some reactors taken offline.

Low river levels amid a lack of rainfall have also disrupted shipping and tourism across Hungary and prompted water-use restrictions in more than 100 towns and villages, including on Budapest's outskirts, according to the government.

The energy crunch could also weigh on the broader economy, which expanded less than expected in the second quarter after a three-year stretch of stagnation, Reuters reported.

Mark Radnai, vice-chairman of the ruling Tisza Party, said in a social media post that a spike in imported electricity prices could cost Hungary between 120 billion and 240 billion forints ($315 million to $630 million).

Warning that the Paks plant could remain offline for weeks, Magyar said his government would seek voluntary power cuts from large users, in addition to the 240 megawatts already pledged, with penalties for noncompliance.

Much of Europe has endured successive heat waves since May, including the continent's most severe on record in June. Scientists with the World Weather Attribution group tie the unprecedented temperatures to human-caused climate change.

The continent is heating at twice the global rate, driving harsher summer heat waves, straining water resources, and intensifying wildfires, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Lawmakers in Italy are this week set to approve a legal framework for next-generation nuclear power as the country joins peers like France and Poland in expanding atomic power for energy security and climate goals.

Under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy is laying the groundwork to revive nuclear as a low-carbon, reliable power, betting that growing support will overcome lingering fears about the technology and the legacy of two anti-nuclear referenda.