The flow of the Danube River, which runs through ten European countries from Germany to the Black Sea, has fallen to historic lows due to lack of rain, reduced water from alpine snowmelt, and successive heat waves affecting the region for weeks.

This situation in Europe’s second-longest river is having a negative impact on river transport, energy production, tourism, and agriculture. The drop in water level has also uncovered archaeological and historical remains, such as mammoth bones in Bulgaria and World War II ships and bombs in Serbia and Hungary.

Several dozen vessels, mainly cargo ships, are stopped this Saturday at different points along the 470 kilometers of the Bulgarian stretch of the Danube River due to the low water level, which in cities like Lom has reached historic lows.

In the town of Ruse, the water level is 89 centimeters below safe navigation levels. Along the entire stretch that marks the border between Romania and Bulgaria, there are at least ten critical points, from Vidin, near the Serbian border, to Silistra, about 400 kilometers downstream to the east.

“The hydrological situation in the Bulgarian stretch of the Danube River remains complicated due to low water levels,” said Ivelin Zanev, director of the Danube River Research and Maintenance Agency in Ruse, in a statement.

According to Zanev, the water level continues to drop and has fallen between one and two centimeters in the last 24 hours. In Ruse, for example, it is expected to drop another three centimeters by Monday.

The Kozloduy nuclear power plant has reported that its two reactors continue to operate at full load as river water is not used to cool them but rather to cool other facilities.

Due to the low flow of the Danube River, Hungary will have to completely shut down the Paks nuclear power plant, south of Budapest, for the next 24 to 72 hours, where half of the country’s electricity is produced, reported the Hungarian government and the plant operator MVM.

The plant, which has four reactors, has an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW).

The Danube’s flow is at a historically low level due to drought and the heatwave, making it difficult for the plant to access enough water to cool the reactors.

According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, conservative Péter Magyar, the country will be able to import the energy it needs as it has import capacities of between 3,600 and 3,800 MW, reported the news portal “HVG.hu”.

Hungarian authorities had announced at noon on Thursday the disconnection of one of the plant’s four units, while the power of another was reduced by 50%.

According to a statement from the operator MVM, which manages the central European country’s only nuclear power plant, the Danube’s level at Paks at noon was more than a meter below the reference level, with a downward trend.

IN THIS ARTICLE