Hungary to shut its only nuclear power plant as the Danube falls to a record low

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in central Hungary would be powered down on Sunday, 2 August 2026, the first full shutdown in its 44 year history. Paks supplies nearly half of Hungary's electricity and draws cooling water for its reactors from the Danube River.

Magyar said output had fallen to 965 megawatts on Friday, 31 July 2026, and to 240 megawatts overnight, far below the normal 2,000 megawatts. Low river levels have limited the ability of the plant's pumps to draw in enough water. A river level of minus 134cm at Paks forces a full shutdown, and the level is expected to fall as low as minus 144cm, far below the previous record of minus 98cm set in 2018.

Months of heat and drought have lowered levels on several European rivers, and Hungary has placed more than 100 cities and villages under water use restrictions. The government has asked companies that use large volumes of water to cut consumption voluntarily. The event has also disrupted shipping, tourism, agriculture and industry in the country. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country was closely monitoring the energy situation and was ready to help.