European Extreme Heatwave Rationing Power in Hungary and Threatening Rhine Shipping

A record-shattering heatwave and acute drought across Central and Southern Europe forced Hungary to drastically curtail nuclear power generation on Thursday, triggering emergency energy rationing for major industrial manufacturers and threatening critical shipping lanes along Germany’s Rhine river.

Hungary’s sole nuclear power facility reduced its output to approximately 10% of normal operating capacity after record-low water levels on the Danube River hampered reactor cooling systems. To prevent power grid failure during peak demand hours between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., Hungarian authorities mandated widespread energy conservation measures. Automotive manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BMW AG, Audi AG, and Suzuki Motor Corp., alongside pharmaceutical producer Gedeon Richter Plc and energy group Mol Nyrt., announced operational reductions to lower electricity usage.

The Hungarian government also halted freight rail traffic during peak evening hours, turned off decorative lighting on Budapest landmarks, and canceled parliamentary sessions. The grid constraints follow an unprecedented overnight low of 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in Budapest on Wednesday night.

In Germany, falling river levels raised swift concerns over supply chain disruptions across the continent’s manufacturing core. Lower water levels on key waterways force cargo barges to operate at reduced capacity to avoid grounding, driving up transport costs for industrial goods, coal, and chemicals. German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger met with affected industry bodies on Thursday, warning that low water levels posed major challenges for inland waterway shipping, industry, and the broader logistics chain. Environmental organization BUND urged federal authorities to increase landscape water retention and restrict industrial water withdrawals to build long-term ecosystem resilience.

The severe conditions pushed temperatures to historical highs in Austria, where the mercury reached 41.2 degrees Celsius (106.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday in the eastern village of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg near the Slovak border. GeoSphere Austria confirmed the reading as the highest temperature ever recorded in the country. Climatologist Alexander Orlik stated that rainfall from Jan. 1 through June 30 was 27% below the national long-term average, adding that eastern regions had received only half their normal precipitation and suffered dry conditions not seen in some areas since 1885.

In Italy, the Health Ministry issued its highest heat alert level across all 27 cities monitored by its national heat surveillance system simultaneously—the first time every monitored city reached red alert status this year. The warnings, covering major urban centers from Trieste to Palermo, signify health risks for the general population. In response, municipal authorities extended evening opening hours at major sites including Rome’s Colosseum and Pantheon while deploying cooling misting fans and extra emergency medical units.

The persistent heat and dry conditions continue to fuel severe wildfires across Southern Europe. Firefighters in southeastern France remained deployed in the Var region, where a wildfire that began July 20 has destroyed more than 60 square kilometers (23 square miles), marking the region’s largest blaze in decades. Across the Balkans, where temperatures hovered near 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday, emergency crews in Serbia fought forest fires west of Belgrade and near the central town of Kraljevo.