Hungary plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought

What the report says

Hungary plans to shut down its only nuclear power plant, Paks, after unusually low water levels on the Danube River limited the cooling water available for the reactors. According to the article, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the facility, located in central Hungary south of Budapest, would be powered down on Sunday. It would be the first full shutdown in the plant’s 44-year history.

The plant supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity, making the stoppage a significant energy development for the country. The article says output had already dropped sharply, and that the river-fed cooling system is sensitive to the Danube’s level. Officials indicated that a specific low-water threshold at Paks requires a full shutdown, and they warned the river could fall even further.

The shutdown comes amid a wider drought and heat-driven water shortage affecting Hungary, with more than 100 cities and villages under water-use restrictions. The government has also asked heavy water users to cut consumption voluntarily. Beyond power generation, the dry conditions have affected shipping, tourism, agriculture and industry. Slovakia’s prime minister said his government was monitoring the situation and ready to assist.

More broadly, the article places the event in the context of repeated European heatwaves since May and notes that climate attribution researchers have linked the extreme temperatures to human-caused climate change.