Hungary plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought

The plant that supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity cannot operate with Danube at record lows

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary has announced it will shut down its only nuclear power plant after record-low levels on the Danube River reduced the water available for cooling its reactors.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in central Hungary would be powered down on Sunday, the first full shutdown in its ۴۴-year history. The plant supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity.

Magyar said output had fallen to ۹۶۵ megawatts on Friday and to ۲۴۰ overnight, far below the normal ۲,۰۰۰.

The Soviet-built, four-reactor plant south of Budapest siphons water from the Danube for cooling, but low river levels have impacted its pumps’ ability to draw in enough water.

A river level of minus ۱۳۴cm at Paks forces a full shutdown, and the level is expected to fall as low as ۱۴۴cm, far below the previous ۹۸cm record set in ۲۰۱۸.

The Danube, which flows from Germany to the Black Sea, is one of several European rivers whose levels have fallen due to months of heat and drought, leading Hungary to place more than ۱۰۰ cities and villages under water-use restrictions.

The government also requested that companies that use large amounts of water for operations voluntarily reduce their consumption to help stabilise the situation.

The record-breaking climate event has also disrupted shipping, tourism, agriculture and industry in the country, which was already beset by years of sluggish growth.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that his country was “closely monitoring the energy situation” and was ready to help.

Europe has weathered successive heatwaves since May, with the most severe heatwave recorded on the continent occurring in June.

Scientists at the World Weather Attribution group say that evidence points to human-caused climate change as the culprit for the unprecedented temperatures.