Lost income, energy fears and a woolly mammoth: what Europe’s dried-up rivers have yielded
Severe heat and drought have pushed parts of the Danube and Rhine to record-low water levels, disrupting transport, electricity generation and tourism across central and eastern Europe. The situation matters because low river levels have forced nuclear reactors to reduce or halt operations, raising concerns about power shortages while shipping routes become increasingly unusable.
Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, which supplies nearly half the country’s electricity, was operating below 50% capacity and could shut down for weeks; Romania also suspended one reactor and planned to stop another. Cargo vessels on the Danube have largely stopped or cannot travel fully loaded, while Budapest sightseeing cruises have been cancelled, but the retreating water has exposed wartime wrecks, a bomb and woolly mammoth remains in Bulgaria. With little rain forecast and temperatures expected to exceed 38C, conditions were expected to worsen.
- Drought has severely disrupted Europe’s major rivers.
- Nuclear power cuts are raising energy-security concerns.
- Low water exposed wrecks, bombs and mammoth remains.
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Europe’s major rivers are vital transport routes, carrying fuel, food and industrial goods between countries. They also supply water used to cool power stations and support tourism, farming and wildlife, so unusually low levels can affect many parts of the economy at once.
The Danube runs through or alongside 10 countries in central and eastern Europe, including Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania, before reaching the Black Sea. The Rhine is one of western Europe’s busiest commercial waterways, linking inland industrial areas with ports such as Rotterdam.
Drought occurs when there is a long period of little rainfall, often made worse by high temperatures that increase evaporation. As water levels fall, ships must carry less cargo or stop travelling, while power plants may have to cut output if there is not enough cool river water available.