World · 3 August 2026
How does a shrinking river stop a nuclear reactor?
Unsplash / Nicolas HIPPERT
Record-low Danube water levels forced Hungary's Paks nuclear plant to power down, as its four reactors need river water for cooling. The river fell to minus 134 centimetres, past the shutdown threshold and below the previous record of minus 98 centimetres set in 2018. Prime Minister Peter Magyar called it the plant's first full shutdown since 1982 and warned of an energy crisis.
Reported by Al Jazeera · How we write briefs