Danube River suffers historic drought and affects electricity generation in Central Europe

Crossing ten countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, the Danube has receded to levels never seen before for much of its route, exposing rarely seen rocks, sandbanks and ancient shipwrecks, AP explains. And the forecast is that the river will continue to fall in the coming days, with no significant rain expected and with temperatures rising to more than 38°C across the region.

The low water level forced the popular cruise ships, from which passengers normally disembark for sightseeing in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, to dock upriver. Cargo ships have practically stopped operating, according to the Hungarian Ministry of Transport and Investment.

In Bulgaria, where the Danube forms the country's border with Romania, police evacuated nearly 200 tourists from a cruise ship that had run aground near the port town of Vidin, where it was docking to receive supplies. Bulgarian border police said the vessel had little fresh water when it ran aground and that its crew may have to remain on board for an extended period, depending on navigation conditions and refloating options.

For the first time, Hungary and Romania had to shut down nuclear reactors due to a lack of water from the Danube to cool them, reports the Guardian. The plant shut down by the Hungarians accounts for no less than 40% of the country's electricity, said Prime Minister Péter Magyar.

The Paks plant is the only nuclear power plant in Hungary. Built by the Soviets, it remains the backbone of the country's electrical system, according to Politico. Therefore, the loss of production at the plant triggered national energy-saving measures and offers of support from neighboring countries.

Romania has declared a state of energy alert for the entire month of August, reports Bloomberg. Last week, the country decommissioned one of its two nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda plant. And the expectation is to deactivate the second in the coming days, as the low levels of the Danube prevent adequate cooling of nuclear equipment.

To try to minimize the problem, Romanian naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to help redirect water from the river. Experts said the explosion would allow authorities to build a temporary dam, diverting more water into the canal that supplies Cernavoda's remaining reactor.

Financial Times, CNN, Reuters, AP, Euractiv, DW and Bloomberg also reported on the extreme drought in Central Europe.