Hungary's government plans interventions on Danube River to keep nuclear plant running

Hungary is taking steps to raise the Danube River's level to keep its only nuclear power plant running

11 August 2026 Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant has initiated the technical procedures preceding the controlled shutdown of its second nuclear reactor, the so-called Unit 2, due to the very low flow of the Danube. The river water was essential for the cooling of the pumps used by the plant. The shutdown of Unit

The Danube's level at Paks, south of Budapest, has risen by about 19 centimetres from its previous low, allowing the first additional Paks nuclear plant turbine to be restarted and reconnected.

The EU nation has already declared a state of energy emergency for the whole of August