Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced today the suspension of operations at Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, for the “first time in 44 years,” due to critically low water levels in the Danube River.
Hungary’s nuclear plant suspended as Danube water levels plummet
In a post on platform X shortly before the shutdown, the Prime Minister announced that the continued drop in Danube water levels had made it necessary to shut down one of the two remaining generating units at the Paks nuclear plant, with the planned halt taking effect at 1:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Greek time).
“The plant’s output will thereby be reduced to just 240 megawatts,” the Prime Minister stated, clarifying that the plant “will cease operations entirely for the first time in 44 years.”
The Paks facility, located approximately 100 kilometers south of Budapest, accounts for roughly 40% of Hungary’s annual electricity production.
On Friday, the company operating the plant — whose four Soviet-era reactors are cooled using water drawn from the Danube — had announced that a further drop in water levels could lead to a complete shutdown of the plant by mid-next week. However, the government had warned that operations could be halted as early as the weekend.
Due to prolonged lack of rainfall and extreme heat that has been gripping Europe since spring, Danube water levels have reached historic lows at certain points along the river. The situation could deteriorate further as temperatures of between 40°C and 42°C are forecast for the central European country in the coming days.
