Romania shuts nuclear plant as Danube drops

Romania has shut down its sole nuclear power plant due to a severe drought that has caused the Danube River to plummet to record low water levels. The Cernavoda plant, which generates around 20% of Romania's electricity, has only experienced two previous shutdowns, both during droughts. One of the plant's two 700 megawatt reactors was switched off last month, and the company has now decided to turn off the remaining reactor.

Nuclearelectrica, the plant's operator, anticipates the reactor won't restart within the next 10 days. To prevent a full shutdown, the company allocated over 2 million euros to divert the Danube's flow for cooling purposes, including dynamiting rocks and sinking barges filled with rocks into the river. The European climate change observatory, Copernicus, reported that nearly two-thirds of the Danube experienced the lowest flow rates on record for July in 34 years.

This drought has affected nuclear power generation across Europe, with France facing a more than 20% shortfall in atomic production capacity due to drought, heat, and a jellyfish invasion. Hungary, a neighboring country, has taken measures to prevent its only nuclear plant from shutting down by constructing a submerged wall and deploying barges to raise water levels.

The drought, exacerbated by human-induced climate change, has also impacted shipping along the Danube's 2,850-kilometre route.