Hungary to Shut Its Only Nuclear Plant for First Time on Drought

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(Bloomberg) — Hungary is set to shut down its only nuclear power plant for the first time after water levels in the Danube fell below the minimum needed to cool its four reactors.

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One of the two reactors still operating will be shut down at 1:30 a.m. local time Sunday, with the final one powering down later in the day, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in a post on Facebook. 

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The halt of the 44-year-old Paks plant south of Budapest removes more than 40% of the nation’s electricity generation capacity and will likely force the country to rely more on expensive imports.

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Magyar warned earlier that Hungary faces its worst energy crisis in decades as another heat wave is forecast across Central Europe. Persistently low river levels could keep Paks’ 2,000 megawatts of capacity offline for weeks, prolonging the strain on the country’s power system, he said on Friday. 

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The government has already urged large industrial users, including carmakers and battery plants, to reduce power consumption to ease pressure on the grid. Legislation has been approved to allow voluntary reductions to become mandatory if needed, while emergency plans outline broader restrictions to safeguard essential services such as hospitals.

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The drought is also exposing wider vulnerabilities in Hungary’s water system. It comes as the government begins work on a long-delayed overhaul of the country’s aging irrigation network, which has become an increasing threat to agricultural production.

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The disruption underscores how prolonged drought and extreme heat are increasingly affecting Europe’s energy infrastructure. Water shortages, record temperatures and wildfires have strained power systems and damaged crops across the continent, highlighting the growing economic cost of climate extremes.

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On Friday, several thousand Hungarians were left without water in the picturesque town of Szentendre, just north of Budapest along the Danube, due to a demand overload, Magyar said. The army deployed two water trucks and distributed 7,000 bags of water.

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