EnergyHungary Sinks Barges as Danube Drought Cuts Nuclear Plant to 25%Aired August 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Hungary has cut output at the Paks0:01nuclear [music] power plant to about 25%0:04of capacity as historic drought has0:06pushed the Danube River to record low0:07levels0:08>> [music]0:08>> and to about 1/3 of its annual mean0:10flow. Paks is Hungary's largest single0:13source of electricity, providing about0:151/3 of the nation's power, [music]0:17and it depends solely on Danube water0:18for cooling, requiring 100 cubic meters0:21per second that its pumps can no longer0:23reach at current levels. Running at0:24[music] roughly a quarter capacity0:26leaves a plant that normally powers a0:28third of the country constrained by a0:29river delivering a third of its usual0:32water. The sole cooling source is now0:34too shallow to [music] feed the intakes,0:35forcing authorities to physically0:37reshape the riverbed to keep the0:38reactors running. Crews are sinking two0:41water-filled barges into the riverbed to0:43raise the level by about 20 cm as an0:45emergency temporary measure while0:47building a longer-term barrier across0:49the riverbed that will take several0:50weeks to complete. The same low water0:52conditions force neighboring Romania to0:54shut its last operating reactor on0:56Thursday, and the parallel curtailments0:58expose how Europe's river-cooled0:59nuclear, thermal, and hydropower systems1:01remain vulnerable to a hotter, drier1:03climate. [music] The temporary lift and1:05the week's-long barrier now face the1:06test of whether they can restore cooling1:08intake levels, how long [music] Paks1:09stays at a quarter capacity, and what1:11that means for Hungary's electricity1:12supply, prices, and need [music] for1:14imports. The account was published1:16August 15th and has not yet been1:17independently confirmed.1:19Like and follow for more stories that1:21matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗