Hungarian rivers face crisis from drought and riverbed deepening

Hungarian rivers, including the Danube, Tisza, and Drava, are facing a crisis of extremely low water levels driven by two reinforcing processes: climate change and long-term riverbed deepening.

Climate change is altering precipitation patterns, leading to longer periods of drought and increased evaporation. Simultaneously, decades of river regulation—including narrowing channels, cutting off meanders, and industrial dredging—have increased erosion capacity while reducing sediment inflow. Consequently, the Danube's riverbed has sunk by an average of approximately two meters over the last 60 years, while the Tisza and Drava have decreased by about 1.5 meters over the last century.

These hydrological shifts pose significant risks, such as threatening the cooling water supply for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, compromising drinking water security, hindering agriculture and navigation, and damaging riparian ecosystems. Experts from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences suggest that traditional flood defense strategies must shift toward complex water management and soil moisture retention to adapt to this new reality.