Trending 
Hungary will shut down its only nuclear power plant after record-low water levels in the Danube River left it unable to maintain normal cooling, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday.
The shutdown marks the first time the Paks Nuclear Power Plant has been taken completely offline in 44 years, as prolonged drought and extreme heat continue to affect parts of Europe.
Located south of Budapest, Paks normally supplies about a third of Hungary’s electricity. Its reactors rely on water pumped from the Danube for cooling, but the river has fallen to record lows following months of limited rainfall and repeated heatwaves since May.
Magyar said one of the plant’s two remaining operating units would be shut down at 1:30 a.m. because of the further decline in the river’s water level.
“Due to the further drop in the Danube’s water level, one of the last two generating units at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant will be shut down at 1:30 a.m.,” Magyar posted on X(formerly Twitter).
Due to the further drop in the Danube’s water level, one of the last two generating units at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant will be shut down at 1:30 a.m. As a result, the plant’s output will fall to just 240 megawatts, and tomorrow it will be completely shut down for the first…
— Magyar Péter (Ne féljetek) (@magyarpeterMP) August 1, 2026
He added that the plant’s output would fall to 240 megawatts before being completely halted the following day.
The plant’s operator had warned on Friday that falling water levels could force Paks to shut down entirely around the middle of the week.
Hungary’s weather service, HungaroMet, forecast temperatures above 40C in the coming days, with a peak of 42C expected on Thursday. That would equal the national temperature record set earlier this summer.
