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

Hungary will shut down its only nuclear power plant for the first time in its 44-year history, after the Danube fell below the minimum water level needed to cool the four reactors at Paks.

One of the two reactors still running will be stopped at 1:30 a.m. local time Sunday, and the final one will power down later in the day, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in a Facebook post.

The Paks plant, south of Budapest, accounts for more than 40% of Hungary's electricity generation. Taking its reactors offline removes 2,000 megawatts of capacity and leaves the country leaning on imports that Magyar described as expensive. He warned on Friday that Hungary faces its worst energy crisis in decades. Another heat wave is forecast across Central Europe, and persistently low river levels could keep Paks down for weeks and prolong strain on the power system, he said.

Two of the plant's four reactors were already offline, so the two still running will be shut down Sunday. The government has asked large industrial users, including carmakers and battery plants, to reduce consumption. Lawmakers approved legislation that would turn voluntary reductions into mandatory ones if needed, and emergency plans outline broader restrictions to protect hospitals and other essential services.

The drought is also exposing weaknesses in Hungary's water network. The government has begun a long-delayed overhaul of the country's aging irrigation network, which has become an increasing threat to agricultural production.

Record heat and wildfires have already strained power systems and damaged crops across Europe this summer. For Hungary, losing Paks means heavier reliance on electricity imports, and those imports are expensive, Magyar said.

On Friday, several thousand residents of Szentendre, a Danube town just north of Budapest, were left without water because of a demand overload, Magyar said. The army deployed two water trucks and distributed 7,000 bags of water.