Hungarian nuclear plant shuts down as heat and drought dry out Danube

Hungary's sole nuclear power plant, Paks, has shut down due to record-low water levels in the Danube River. The plant, located about 50 miles south of Budapest, produces nearly half of Hungary's electricity.

The shutdown was caused by the plant's intake pumps being unable to draw enough water to cool its four reactors. Water levels in the Danube at Paks are expected to fall to negative 144 centimetres, breaking the previous record of negative 98 centimetres set in 2018, according to the Times of India.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the country faces a critical period, with temperatures expected to reach 40°C. He stated that the shutdown does not pose any safety risks. The plant had already reduced output to around 10% of its normal capacity before shutting down completely.

Brief written by urgent.news from Japan Times, Times of India — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.