Record-
low Danube River levels
put Hungary• Венгрия's only nuclear
plant on brink ofshutting down
Record-low Danube River levels put Hungary• Венгрия's only nuclear plant on brink of
shutting down
By
Ramy Inocencio ,
Ramy Inocencio
Correspondent
Ramy Inocencio is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in London, covering
Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа and the Middle East. He joined the Network in 2019 as CBS News' Asia
correspondent, based in Beijing and reporting across the Asia-Pacific,
bringing two decades of experience working and traveling between Asia and the
United States• Соединённые Штаты Америки (США).
Read Full Bio
Ramy Inocencio ,
Rose Manister
August 5, 2026 / 11:33 AM EDT / CBS News
Add CBS News on Google• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Go » Google (компания)
As the Danube River breaks new record lows across much of its nearly
1,800-mile stretch through eastern Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа » Восточная Европа, curiosities of the past —
including woolly mammoth bones in Bulgaria, sunken Nazi warships in Serbia and
unexploded WWII artillery in Hungary• Венгрия's capital — are emerging. But
there's also an energy crisis unfolding for Hungary• Венгрия's nearly 10 million
people.
The country's only nuclear power plant• Энергетика » Атомная энергетика » Атомные электростанции (АЭС), known as Paks, is on the brink of
completely shutting down. As of Wednesday morning, three of the plant's four
reactors are not in operation, while one continues to operate at approximately
50% power.
On normal days, the 44-year-old Soviet-designed facility, which sits on the
Danube about 60 miles south of Budapest• Венгрия » Будапешт, generates roughly 50% of the
country's electricity.
But with a drought across southeast Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа now more than three months in,
these are not normal days.
A view of the Paks Power Plant on July 31, 2026, in Dunaszentbenedek, Hungary• Венгрия.
Janos Kummer / Getty Images
Unlike nuclear plants in the U.S• Соединённые Штаты Америки (США)., U.K., Germany• Германия and France• Франция — many of
which sit on smaller rivers and rely on giant hourglass-shaped cooling towers
to recirculate water — Paks was built to suck water in directly from the
Danube, a river long assumed too mighty to run dry. Approaching the plant,
there are no telltale dumb-bell silhouettes on the horizon signaling its
presence.
"Several factors will determine whether Hungary• Венгрия's most important power plant
can avoid a complete shutdown in the coming days," said Hungarian Prime
Minister Péter Magyar , visiting the site Tuesday, attempting to
balance reality while projecting optimism.
Just three months into office after his Tisza party ended Viktor
Orbán's 16-year rule in a landslide election this spring, Magyar has
called on all Hungarians to unite to conserve power.
Hardly any precipitation is forecast for at least the next 10 days and the
Danube's water levels are expected to slip even lower.
"There are a few critical days left. Today and tomorrow are certainly that,"
Magyar said. "I ask everyone to continue the national unity that has developed
in the country. Let's do what our country demands."
Magyar noted there is "light at the end of the tunnel," as forecasters predict
a cold front moving in on Friday. The temperature in Budapest• Венгрия » Будапешт Wednesday and
Thursday was expected to be above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The anxiety over Paks, Hungary• Венгрия's most critical piece of infrastructure, is the
first real test of Magyar's young government.
This week, more than 300 government-linked buildings in Budapest• Венгрия » Будапешт have been
ordered to turn off their lights, with the romantic spotlights on popular
tourist hotspots like Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge• Транспорт » Дорожно-транспортная инфраструктура » Дороги, Мосты » Мосты по конструкции » Висячие Мосты » Цепной мост Сечени staying dark after the
late-summer sunsets.
To offset the loss of power generation, Hungary• Венгрия has nearly doubled its
electricity imports from neighboring countries via the region's power grid• Энергетика » Электроэнергетика » Система электроснабжения
• Электроника » Электронные компоненты » Источники питания » Система электроснабжения
• Техника » Электротехника » Система электроснабжения,
news site Euractiv reported . Hungary• Венгрия's electricity network is among Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа's
most interconnected, letting the country easily buy power from its neighbors.
Costs have not hit consumers yet as the new government absorbs the difference
for now.
"The electricity market is stable, and supply is problem-free," the government
said, while urging households to avoid running washing machines and tumble
dryers between 5 and 10 p.m. to ease pressure on the grid.
Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа is the world's fastest-warming continent , warming more than twice as
fast as the global average, according to Copernicus, the European Union• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Ев » Евросоюз's
Earth observation and climate monitoring group.
The continent has warmed by around 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit compared to
pre-industrial levels, with the fastest warming areas in eastern and parts of
central Europe• Физико-географические регионы » Европа » Центральная Европа, as well as the European Arctic.
In:
Nuclear Power Plant• Энергетика » Атомная энергетика » Атомные электростанции (АЭС)
Hungary• Венгрия
European Union• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Ев » Евросоюз
Drought