Key actors — tap for context
Cernavodă
Romania's only nuclear power plant on the Danube bank, its two blocks typically produce around 20% of Romanian electricity
Why here: Block 1 underwent a controlled shutdown on July 28 for low cooling water level from the Danube
More info →Nuclearelectrica
state company operating the Cernavodă nuclear power plant
Why here: Announced the shutdown of block 1 and procedures according to its protocols for severe drought situations
Paks
Hungary's only nuclear power plant, covers approximately one third of the country's electricity consumption
Why here: As of July 31 running at half capacity, operator admits complete shutdown within the next few days
More info →
Ilie Bolojan
Romanian politician, after his government fell in a vote of no confidence on May 5, 2026 continues to lead the country as acting prime minister and simultaneously interim energy minister
Why here: Declared a nationwide state of emergency for electricity production for August and urged residents to conserve during peak hours
More info →Danube
Europe's second longest river, flows through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine
Why here: This year's drought has lowered its level at Cernavodă to approximately one third of the July average and at Paks to record minimum
What happened in Romania
- Barges whose sinking had been postponed for two days, Romania finally detonated. Four barges were detonated directly in the riverbed to direct more water to Cernavodă — the plan from the third wave thus reached its harshest form after a week of delays. Politika ↗
- "Why should I turn off?" Energy crisis in Romania has turned into a dispute over who should conserve. Adevărul describes a country divided between rebellion and solidarity. Adevărul ↗
- Romanian prime minister points back to Hungary for the Danube flow — and is preparing his own plan for Cernavodă Magyar Nemzet ↗
- Danube in Serbia dropped to minus 97 centimeters in one place, drought threatens further problems Kurir ↗
- The sinking of four barges, which was supposed to increase the flow to Cernavodă, was postponed for the second day in a row — "for safety reasons" HotNews ↗Libertatea ↗
- The Danube recorded a new historical minimum. The water level is expected to remain stationary until August 12: "We gained three to four days" Digi24 ↗
- Water restrictions already apply in 141 Romanian communes — in 80 of them in the centralized system, in 61 it's wells Libertatea ↗
- Romania declared an energy crisis state and ordered emergency measures Portfolio ↗
- Cernavodă is no longer a unique case. Bulgarian Dnevnik calculated that over twenty nuclear reactors in Europe have stopped or reduced their output due to weather — individual shutdowns have become a continental phenomenon. Dnevnik ↗
The flow of the Danube at Cernavodă fell to approximately 1,630 cubic meters per second — roughly 37% of the July average of 4,700 – 4,750 m³/s, with a forecast of further decline to 1,500 m³/s in August, close to the historical minimum of 1,400 m³/s from 1985. Tech Times ↗ Nuclearelectrica therefore on July 28 in the morning carried out a controlled shutdown and disconnected block 1 of the plant from the grid — both blocks together otherwise typically produce around 1,300 MW, thus almost 20% of Romanian electricity consumption. The company acted according to its procedures for severe drought situations, the measure is preventive and has no impact on nuclear safety, personnel or the environment. The Diplomat Bucharest ↗ The shutdown of block 2 was planned for July 29, but after a night inspection of operating parameters, technicians let it continue running on the night of July 30 with a warning that it could be shut down at any time. BTA ↗
The country is currently covering the outage with gas, photovoltaic, wind energy and imports — during evening peak hours (20:00 – 23:00) imports rose to approximately 1,700 MW from total demand of around 7,000 MW. Romania Insider ↗ Ilie Bolojan, who continues to lead the country as acting prime minister (and at the same time interim energy minister) after his government fell in a vote of no confidence on May 5, 2026, declared for August a nationwide state of emergency for electricity production and said that Romania will have to engage all available capacities — gas power plants, photovoltaic, battery storage as well as wind energy — and resort to imports as well. The government at the same time released funding for work that should temporarily redirect water from a side canal so that block 2 remains connected to the grid, and Romania is negotiating with Ukraine and other neighbors about securing electricity imports during peak hours. Reuters ↗
Why Hungary is also threatened
- The situation in Paks is already threatening the forint according to Index. From a technical cooling problem, it has become a macroeconomic issue — electricity imports are pushing the currency. This is the first time Hungarian media directly connect the Danube water level to the exchange rate. Index ↗
- Telex: "With electricity production we have the same problem as at the time of the revolution, 40 years have passed." The commentary argues that the crisis was not revealed by weather, but by four decades of postponed decisions. Telex ↗
- A new heat wave is coming to Serbia, the hydrometeorological institute issued two warnings (Politika ↗)
- The Bózsva creek has dried up — drought is no longer just a matter of large rivers Népszava ↗
- "The next economic competition could be waged over water — even in Hungary," writes Portfolio Portfolio ↗
- In Újpest, an absolute Budapest temperature record was set — 41.6 °C, in a single day, 250 hectares burned Index ↗Népszava ↗
- The bill for the energy crisis has already arrived. Portfolio writes that despite savings, the country burns large sums in the evenings — that is, the nuclear outage directly translates to costs. Portfolio ↗
The same drought affects the Danube hundreds of kilometers upstream, at the Hungarian power plant Paks. The water level there fell to a record low on July 30 — 28 centimeters lower than the previous record from 2018 and approximately a meter below the century-low that was anticipated during the power plant's design in the early 1980s. World Nuclear News ↗ Unlike at Cernavodă, the issue in Paks is not a lack of cooling water as such, but the fact that the intake level of the pumps is higher than the current river level and continues to fall — so the pumps are performing their function increasingly poorly. The power plant had been operating at half capacity by July 31 — delivering approximately 965 MW instead of the usual 2,000 MW — and the operator admits that if the water level continues to fall, it will have to completely shut down the entire power plant within the coming days; a completely shut down power plant requires only 5 m³ of water per minute for cooling instead of 100 m³ per second at full operation. AP ↗
Update (~14:00, Aug 1): According to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, the complete shutdown of Paks could come as soon as this weekend — sooner than the original phrasing "within the coming days" from July 31 suggested. Hungarian State Railways MÁV announced train service restrictions to save energy. (Yle ↗, Portfolio ↗)
Update 2 (~00:00, Aug 2): Opposition leader Magyar Péter (Tisza) announced on social networks during the night that the power plant would shut down the penultimate block at 1:30 and the complete shutdown of Paks would come by Sunday, August 2 — sooner than the weekend forecast from Finland suggested. Operator MVM did not independently confirm the report by the time of this article's publication; part of Hungarian media also reports on opposite framing from ruling Fidesz, which labels similar dramatic scenarios about "definitive" shutdown as conspiracy. (444 ↗, Telex ↗, Népszava ↗)
Update 3 (~21:00, Aug 3): The Romanian army deliberately blew up the rock Pârjoaia at the bottom of the Danube and lowered four boats into the riverbed to redirect the flow toward the Cernavodă intake — the water level decline stopped according to Apele Română water authorities. The fate of block 2, however, remains uncertain: the power plant chief estimates how much longer it can run before it will have to shut down as well. (Libertatea ↗, HotNews ↗)
One River, Two Countries
- Germany has moved from proposal to action: the truck driving ban is being relaxed. Tagesschau explains what this means in practice — roads are to replace what the Rhine can no longer bear. The Austrian ORF also took up the debate. Tagesschau ↗ORF ↗
- Kurier: "On the beautiful brown Danube" — when a lifeline dries up. An Austrian report about a river that has ceased to be a shipping route. Kurier ↗
- NZZ: "Water fortress drying up" — Switzerland should prepare for harsh resource-sharing conflicts with neighbors. A country that supplies water to half of Europe is, for the first time, openly talking about resource disputes. Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
- "Hardly raining — are we facing another millennial drought?" NZZ asks whether this is an episode or a regime change. Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
- More parts of Britain are drying out, a fifth heat wave is intensifying and the temperature record from 1995 is set to fall next week. BBC News ↗Sky News ↗
- How drought has changed the Irish landscape is visible from satellite images. The Journal ↗
- In North Macedonia, Gostivar remains without drinking water. It is no longer just about industry and power plants — in the south of the continent, tap water is missing. Libertas ↗
- Iceland's RÚV summed it up across the continent: the Rhine and Danube water levels have never been lower RÚV ↗
- Germany's Association of Cities and Municipalities calls for "national rallying" for water supply, Greens criticize Merz's government Tagesspiegel ↗Süddeutsche Zeitung ↗
- Handelsblatt: drought is turning into an economic problem, low Rhine is slowing industry Handelsblatt ↗RFI ↗
- Der Standard: "damage is enormous" — how the lack of water in the Danube hit Austrian companies Der Standard ↗
- Austria fears price increases, Styrian water management reports "historically worst year" ORF ↗Kleine Zeitung ↗
- In France, drought has affected 1,373 waterways, rivers in Charente have dried up BFM TV ↗
- In Italy, mayors are beginning to ration water, taps are dry at night La Stampa ↗
- In the Netherlands, almost no rain is expected in the coming days — the Leersumse Plas lake has already disappeared NOS ↗NOS ↗
- Even olives are drying up in Slovenia — one of the most resilient plants RTV Slovenija ↗
- Swiss climatologist: "Earth is getting sunstroke" and streams in the Mittelland face the end of brook trout Tages-Anzeiger ↗Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- NZZ: when water ceases to be taken for granted — how Switzerland and Europe are suffering from drought Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
- Bulgaria is selling electricity at record levels precisely because Cernavodă reduced output: "A miracle, I've never seen such exports" Pro TV Stirile ↗
- Romania will ban electricity exports during peak hours, Moldova reports a deficit between 4 and 5 p.m. and calls for rational use Newsmaker ↗Ziarul de Gardă ↗
- Germany is tackling the same issue on the Rhine: State Secretary Bilger proposes relaxing the Sunday truck driving ban after a crisis meeting, so that roads can take over cargo from ships Tagesschau ↗ZDF heute ↗
- Handelsblatt no longer writes about an episode, but about a permanent state: "The fight for water began long ago"; Courrier International asks whether river shipping in Germany has any future at all Handelsblatt ↗Courrier International ↗
- In Switzerland, Lago Maggiore is heading toward a record low, Lake Constance has mud instead of beaches and Zurich shipping companies are closing stations SRF ↗SRF ↗Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- In Croatia, the Drava has a record low water level and sandbanks have appeared that few had ever seen; the country also measured 40 degrees for the first time this summer Index.hr ↗Večernji list ↗
- Italy reports red alert in all 27 monitored cities and 2026 is on track to be the warmest year in history La Repubblica ↗Corriere della Sera ↗
- Low Danube revealed remains of Constantine's Bridge in Bulgaria, in Montenegro they wrote about it as a bridge from Roman times Dnevnik ↗Vijesti ↗
- It is not just the Danube that has dried up. According to AGI, which is based on Copernicus program data, all major European rivers are in a similar state. AGI ↗
- The Rhine got its own crisis meeting. Germany's new Transport Minister Steffen Bilger convened a meeting in Bonn about low water levels, shipping traffic is stuck and supply chains are being disrupted. Spiegel ↗, ZDF heute ↗, Die Zeit ↗
- Alpine glaciers are having their worst year in history. La Stampa writes that the end of July made 2026 a record bad season — meaning there will be a lack of what replenishes rivers in summer. La Stampa ↗
It is the same phenomenon in two countries at once — the result of a combination of this year's long-term low Danube levels and deepening of its riverbed, as described by the Paks operator. World Nuclear News ↗ SK/CZ media today covered only the Hungarian side of the story — the energy crisis around Paks, calls to major consumers to save, and the possible shutdown of Budapest's decorative lighting. The Romanian half of the same river, with its decommissioned reactor, nationwide state of emergency, and more expensive electricity imports, was missing from domestic news coverage.
Limits of This View
- Not every water dispute is about drought. In Bulgaria's Velingrad, a citizens' initiative "Citizens for Kleptouza" is arguing with the town hall about the future of a karst spring — a reminder that pressure on water sources also has purely local, governance-related causes. Dnevnik ↗
- Hungarian Portfolio: heat waves have already claimed tens of thousands of lives in Europe and it's not over yet Portfolio ↗
- Il Fatto Quotidiano opens the other side of the equation: does it make sense to exhaust rivers with small hydroelectric plants for a few watts? Il Fatto Quotidiano ↗
- Pressure on water is not just about power plants. Austria reports the worst harvest in 56 years and dramatic water shortages in Carinthian towns, Swiss Winterthur is supplying surrounding communities with record amounts of drinking water, and Slovenia has just completed a record-long heat wave. Temperature records were set in Slovakia and Austria. Kurier ↗, Kleine Zeitung ↗, Tages-Anzeiger ↗, Siol ↗, Diena ↗
The situation is changing day by day and can rapidly improve or worsen depending on whether and when it rains in the Danube basin — information in this article is current as of July 31, 2026. Key figures (flow rate, outage percentages, timeline) come directly from Nuclearelectrica and MVM (Paks) operators and from specialized energy and news agency press (World Nuclear News, Tech Times, Reuters, BTA), not from independent measurement — however, these are hydrological and technical data that are substantially less prone to political distortion than, for example, domestic political disputes.
What hotinfo is Following
- Will the BME estimate be confirmed that the underwater weir at Dunaszentbenedek has to be redesigned?
- When will groundwater near Bratislava and on Žitný ostrov start to recover?
- When will Cernavodă (shut down on August 13) return to operation?
- Will Kozloduy have to cut output at unit 6 too, or is reducing unit 5 enough?Doplnené kontrolou 7.10.2026: Kozloduj znížil výkon aj na 6. bloku, takže stačiť 5. blok nestačilo. https://www.24chasa.bg/biznes/article/23687530
- Will Paks really come back to full power around August 27, as minister Kapitány promised?→ O čom píše Európa: Putin podpísal tri utajené dekréty, kurdské sily v Sýrii sa …Áno — Paks nabehol turbínu po turbíne a koncom augusta opäť bežal na plný výkon, skôr, než sa plánovalo. Minister Kapitány pri šiestej turbíne hlásil, že elektráreň možno spustiť celú.
- Will Paks in Hungary shut down completely?→ Maďarsko začne od nedele v Paksi postupne spúšťať odstavené turbínyNIE — Paks sa k úplnému odstaveniu nedostal. Magyar 19.8. oznámil, že ďalšiu turbínu odstavovať netreba a od nedeľnej polnoci sa odstavené turbíny postupne spúšťajú; plný výkon plánovaný na štvrtok/piatok. (svet.sme.sk #1383381)
- Will Romania have to shut down unit 2 at Cernavodă as well?→ Nízky Dunaj komplikuje situáciu. Rumunsko odstavuje druhý blok jadrovej elektrá…13.8.2026: Rumunsko odstavuje druhý blok Cernavody pre extrémne nízku hladinu Dunaja (hnonline.sk #1351910, aktuality.sk #1351930).
- Will the diversion of water from the side channel be completed?→ Naložit lodě kamením a potopit. Maďaři mají jedinečné řešení jak zvednout hladi…13.8.2026: Maďarsko nariadilo vybudovanie dnového prahu v koryte Dunaja (spomalenie prietoku -> zdvih hladiny pre chladenie Paksu); núdzovo dva vlečné člny s kamením (novinky.cz #1352000).
- Will Romania agree with Ukraine and its neighbours on importing electricity at peak times?→ Maďarsko nasypalo do Dunaja prah pre jadrovú elektráreň. Zrýchlená voda pod ním…Naplnené 8.9.2026: Rumunsko po odstavení oboch blokov Cernavody kryje výpadok v špičke dovozom; podľa štátneho tajomníka Bușoiho má dovoz s nábehom veternej výroby klesnúť hlboko pod 2 000 MW. Zdroj menuje dovoz ako celok, nie konkrétne dohodu s Ukrajinou.
- Will August bring rain that eases the situation?Nenaplnené: august zrážky nepriniesol. K 8.9.2026 stojí Cernavodă na oboch blokoch a Bușoi hovorí, že zrážky v hornom povodí (Rakúsko) ani mierny vzostup na Sáve zatiaľ nie sú záchranné riešenie; reštart najskôr ku koncu septembra.
- What measures Hungary is taking to keep the Danube's level up for Paks→ Maďarsko potápí čluny, aby zvedlo hladinu Dunaje. Snaží se předejít dalšímu uza…Splnené 18.8.2026: Maďarsko potápa nákladné čluny a otvára stavidlá bočných ramien, aby umelo zdvihlo hladinu Dunaja a udržalo chladenie Paksu. Zdroje: irozhlas.cz #1375600, ČT24 #1375132, aktuálně.cz #1374932, Der Standard #1375084 (Gerangel ums Wasser).
