[REVISION HISTORY]

Danube low water hits historic lows and sparks diplomacy

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2026-09-09 05:56 UTC → 2026-09-11 10:00 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Danube low water hits historic lows and sparks ~~diplomatic's~~ diplomacy

Record-low Danube flows persisted into early September 2026, intensifying energy, water, and navigation crises across Europe. In Romania, the energy crisis intensified following the simultaneous shutdown of nuclear and thermal capacities. The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant took both reactors offline due to insufficient cooling water, while a boiler leak at the Turceni thermal plant further reduced production. To address the shortage, the government announced emergency works to build a new threshold in the Old Danube bed and authorized Hidroelectrica to release surplus water from the Olt river. In Hungary, the Paks nuclear plant has returned to capacity, but hydrological conditions remain extreme. In Budapest, the river reached a historic low, with sensors recording a depth of only 1 centimeter, surpassing the previous record from July 2018. This has severely hindered navigation and exposed riverbed obstacles, including the wreckage of the former Franz Joseph Bridge. While Paks water levels reached a minimum of -105 centimeters, experts hope incoming precipitation may stabilize production. The emergency riverbed sill project near ~~Paks~~ Paks, costing approximately six billion forints, has drawn international scrutiny. The project was implemented as an emergency measure to ensure cooling water for the nuclear plant, bypassing standard permitting and notification processes for neighboring countries and EU institutions. While Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar suggested Austria had filed a complaint with the European Commission, the Austrian ~~government~~ Ministry for Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure has denied filing a any formal complaint ~~with~~ in Brussels. However, the ~~European Commission,~~ Danube Commission and the ~~project remains a subject of discussion~~ European Commission remain in contact with Hungarian authorities via the EU Danube Region ~~Strategy. The Danube Commission has expressed concerns regarding~~ Strategy to discuss the sill’s height and its impact on river ~~width, requesting modifications to ensure~~ width and continuous navigation. Hydrological forecasts from Romania’s INHGA indicate that Danube flow at the border is expected to remain between 1,400 and 1,800 mc/s throughout September, significantly below the multi-annual average of 3,800 mc/s.

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