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 runningByJUSTIN SPIKE Associated PressAugust 12, 2026, 10:10 AMBUDAPEST, Hungary -- Authorities in Hungary will begin taking steps to raise the level of the Danube River this week in order to ensure the country's only nuclear power plant can continue operating, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Wednesday. Persistent drought and successive extreme heat waves in recent months have deprived one of Europe’s largest rivers of water, bringing Danube levels to record lows and pushing the Paks nuclear power plant to the brink of shutting down for the first time in its 44-year history. The Soviet-built plant, which uses water from the Danube to cool its four reactors, is currently operating at little more than 10% of its 2,000 megawatt capacity due to low water levels. It supplies Hungary with around a third of its electricity. In a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Magyar said authorities would begin building a bed sill — a low concrete or stone structure built into the riverbed to slow the current and raise upstream water levels — on Thursday on a section of the Danube just upriver from t...