Hungary shuts down a reactor at Paks Nuclear Power Plant as the Danube reaches record-low water levels in drought

Summary

Hungary began shutting down Unit 3 at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant on July 29 after the Danube fell to record-low water levels required for reactor cooling. The shutdown cuts plant output to about 60 percent of capacity. The government said even a complete shutdown would not endanger household electricity supply. It is simultaneously compiling a list of industrial consumers whose power and water use may be restricted, indicating that industrial supply is under real pressure. Romania's Cernavoda nuclear plant also took a reactor offline. EU Copernicus satellite images showed the Danube visibly narrower in late July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, independently confirming the drought's severity.

The split

The Hungarian government's framing, relayed through the minister for the environment, stressed that cooling water specialists are managing the situation and that household supply is safe. Daily News Hungary and Telex both reported this reassurance while also noting the simultaneous preparation of industrial-consumer restriction lists, a tension the official framing elides. TVP World, reporting from Poland, treated the shutdown as a regional infrastructure story rather than a political one. Satellite imagery published by Telex's science desk provided the starkest independent evidence: a visually narrowed Danube from EU Copernicus satellites compared with the same stretch a year earlier.

By the numbers

• 60 percent, Paks output after the Unit 3 shutdown
• 4 reactors, the full Paks capacity before the shutdown
• 2, nuclear reactors offline in Central Europe from drought: Paks Unit 3 (Hungary) and a Cernavoda reactor (Romania)

Why it matters

Paks provides roughly 40 percent of Hungary's electricity under normal operating conditions. A prolonged drought-driven capacity cut would force Hungary into greater dependence on electricity imports and its gas-fired backup, with knock-on effects on regional grid balance. The shutdown illustrates a structural vulnerability of river-cooled nuclear plants to climate-linked drought, a pattern likely to affect other Central and Eastern European facilities as extreme heat events intensify.

What to watch

• Whether Danube water levels recover enough to allow Unit 3 restart before the next heatwave peaks
• Which industrial consumers are placed on the restriction list, and how quickly they receive formal notice
• Any Romanian announcement on Cernavoda's timeline for reactor restart
• Regional electricity price movements in Central European power markets as Paks output remains reduced