Overview
- This summer an intense drought pushed the Danube and other European rivers to record low levels, exposing dozens of German World War II vessels near Prahovo and paleontological remains near Ryahovo.
- Authorities have suspended navigation on key Danube stretches because many sunken ships may contain unexploded munitions, and teams are conducting controlled surveys and limited removal work to protect crews and the public.
- The low flows have already forced Romania to shut one reactor at the Cernavodă plant for lack of cooling water while Hungary’s Paks reactor remained operating after a small rise in river levels.
- River transport and tourism have been hit hard: ferries and grain barges are suspended, cruise vessels have been stranded and passengers evacuated, and the European Investment Bank estimates multi-million-dollar annual losses to Serbia from blockages.
- Experts link the event to warmer, drier summers made more likely by climate change and warn the episode exposes structural risks for river-dependent energy, shipping and local communities that will require new adaptation plans.