France, Hungary, and Romania. Due to drought conditions, further nuclear reactors are being taken offline

Friday, Jul 31, 2026

Denik Referendum

Drought and low river levels force temporary shutdowns at several European nuclear power plants due to cooling water shortages.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Low water levels in the Danube River, which cools power plants in Hungary and Romania, reached a thirty-year minimum on July 31, 2026, with further drops expected. This has led to preventive shutdowns at several European nuclear facilities due to summer droughts and insufficient cooling water caused by climate change. Following earlier forced outages at French plants, the low Danube levels have caused issues for Hungarian Paks and Romanian Cernavodă power stations, leading to planned or ongoing reductions in output. While some countries plan to cover potential shortages through other energy sources and increased imports, guaranteed supply is not certain, raising concerns about energy prices and security risks. The current situation prompts a broader debate on the viability of massive investments in nuclear power amid climate change, with varying political stances across Europe.

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