Europe heat wave fuels drought, fires and energy fears

A man walks on a sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, which emerged during the drought in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River between Romania and Serbia near Prahovo on Aug. 4, 2026. Darko Vojinovic/AP hide caption toggle caption Darko Vojinovic/AP LONDON — As Europe endures a relentless heat wave, the Danube's historic lows are disrupting nuclear power operations and revealing the far-reaching impacts of the continent's climate crisis. Hungary came close to a forced shutdown of its only nuclear power plant overnight, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Tuesday morning, as low water levels in the Danube river threaten the country's energy supply. "Around 1:30 a.m. we were a few millimeters away from completely shutting down the Paks Power Plant, but then the water level stopped falling and by morning it had risen 1.5 centimeters. The last turbine is currently operating safely," Magyar said. A view of Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant from the Danube embankment in Dunaszentbenedek on July 31, 2026. Record-low water levels on the Danube, driven by extreme heat and drought, have threatened the plant's cooling system and highlighted Europe's worsening cl...