Danube's record low levels force shutdown of Hungary's only nuclear plant

Hungary's only nuclear power plant will shut down entirely for the first time due to record low water levels on the Danube River, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said. The Soviet-era Paks plant uses the river for cooling but water levels have fallen so low that suction nozzles cannot reach it. Magyar warned the country's energy supply could become critical from Monday because of the shutdown and a heatwave with temperatures around 37 degrees Celsius. He asked Hungarians to limit significant energy consumption between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., including charging electric cars and using air conditioning. A rotational shutdown regime is possible if other efforts fail to maintain the national grid balance. In Romania, one of two nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda plant was shut down earlier this week due to low Danube levels. State-owned Nuclearelectrica was trying to avoid closing the second reactor on Thursday. Romania's National Institute of Hydrology said the average river flow where the Danube enters the country is 4,700 cubic meters per second in July but was down to 1,600 cubic meters per second on Wednesday. Serbian hydrologist Dejan Vladiković said the Danube was at levels not seen for 50 to 60 years and climatologists did not expect improvement until mid-September. Shipping has halted on the river in Bulgaria, and border police evacuated 186 cruise passengers from a ship that ran aground near Vidin.