In Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, sandy islands formed at the bottom of the Danube. Many ships can’t keep sailing, and the power plants don’t have enough cooling water. At least no dead fish have been thrown away so far. Even in Germany, the country where it originates, the almost 2900 km long river carries very little water.

The first cruises had to be canceled and others changed itineraries. To prevent the death of fish, as in the Oder River, local authorities announced that they could ban dredging and other measures that could worsen the ecological situation in the river.

Small de-escalation in Hungary

Since last weekend (August 20/21, 2022), strong storms have somewhat relieved the situation in Hungary. In the summer, at the end of August, there was always a long line of cruise ships on the banks of the Danube in Budapest. However, in recent weeks, only a few small hotel boats have moored here, which could not continue due to low water levels.

But Danube water is also important to Hungary’s power supply, cooling conventional power plants as well as the country’s only nuclear power plant. Due to elevated water temperatures, the reactors at the Pax nuclear power plant were unable to operate at full capacity last week. Energy losses of up to 15 percent per reactor are not uncommon in very hot summers, but currently nuclear power in Hungary is very cheap compared to all other energy sources.

First of all, the Danube ecosystem is going through difficult days in the summer of 2022. At least, there has not yet been a mass extinction of the river fauna. Although hundreds of dead fish were found in a tributary of the Danube on 4 August, the situation was defuse by a dam that diverted more water from the main river to the tributary.

Sandy beaches in Serbia

In Serbia, the banks of the Danube this summer resemble endless sandy beaches. The water level is now fifty percent below the August average. Swimming in one of the largest rivers in Europe is no longer just for kids. In some places you can even walk from one side to the other.

“2022 is one of the driest years on record,” Jelena Jerinich of the Serbian Hydrometeorological Institute (RHMZ) told DW. “For example, in Zemun, the water level in the Danube was below the navigational level of 190 cm for several days, but still well above the historical low of 134 cm in 1983.”

Bulgaria: no problem in Kozloduy

In Vidin, at the beginning of the Bulgarian part of the Danube, many barges are waiting for the water level to rise in order to continue transporting goods. Now they can only work with 30-40 percent load, which is unprofitable for companies.

However, the low water level is not the lowest ever measured in the Bulgarian part of the Danube – in 2003 the level was even lower. Nevertheless, there were no problems with the cooling of the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy at that time. This year, too, there will be no difficulties, assures the management of the nuclear power plant.

Romania: Restriction of production at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant

In Romania, the water level at the lowest point of the Danube – in the middle of the river between the island of Kalinovat and the town of Turnu Magurele – was already almost as low on August 6, 2022 as at the end of August 2003, when we again had a record low level water: 1.87 meters in the middle of the river. 19 years ago, the water level dropped to 1.80 meters. There is a high probability that this year this record will be broken: weather forecasters do not expect rain in the coming weeks.

In 2003, the Chernavoda nuclear power plant was shut down for almost a month. Until now, the supply of cooling water in the summer of 2022 has been “uninterrupted”, assures Romanian Environment Minister Barna Tangtsos. However, he also talked about measures to limit production “due to lack of water.” In some areas, water consumption for private households is now reduced and irrigation of gardens and small fields is limited.

Source: DV