{
  "id": 19586,
  "title": "Heat: Low water in the Danube - Hungary is shutting down the Paks nuclear power plant",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/hitze-niedrigwasser-in-der-donau-ungarn-fahrt-atomkraftwerk-paks",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-02T00:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/hitze-niedrigwasser-in-der-donau-ungarn-faehrt-atomkraftwerk-paks-herunter/100244457.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Budapest – Due to historically low water levels on the Danube, Hungary has shut down its nuclear power plant, Paks, entirely. Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on Facebook that the last reactor block would be taken offline in the night of Sunday, rendering the plant without operation for the first time since its existence began 44 years ago. Paks, located about 100 kilometers south of the capital Budapest and using the Danube for cooling water, now functions at only ten percent of its total capacity. The Meiler nuclear power plant, equipped with four Russian-made reactors, operated at just over ten percent of its capacity on Sunday. Magyar warned that Paks could remain idle for weeks and had cautioned the public about a critical period for energy supply over the following five days. He informed the public on Sunday that the coming five days were the most critical. Magyar stated that the power grid and public services would face immense pressure.",
  "summary": "The extreme drought in Europe is putting pressure on the energy supply. Due to the shutdown of its only nuclear power plant, Hungary is expecting higher electricity imports.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Drought: Hungary shuts down nuclear power plant – electricity supply under pressure",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/durre-ungarn-stoppt-atomkraftwerk-stromversorgung-unter-druck",
        "published": "2026-08-02T08:43:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}