Europe heat wave fuels drought, fires and energy fears

A man walks on a sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, which emerged during the drought in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River between Romania and Serbia near Prahovo on Aug. 4, 2026. Darko Vojinovic/AP hide caption

LONDON — As Europe endures a relentless heat wave, the Danube's historic lows are disrupting nuclear power operations and revealing the far-reaching impacts of the continent's climate crisis.

Hungary came close to a forced shutdown of its only nuclear power plant overnight, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Tuesday morning, as low water levels in the Danube river threaten the country's energy supply.

"Around 1:30 a.m. we were a few millimeters away from completely shutting down the Paks Power Plant, but then the water level stopped falling and by morning it had risen 1.5 centimeters. The last turbine is currently operating safely," Magyar said .

A view of Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant from the Danube embankment in Dunaszentbenedek on July 31, 2026. Record-low water levels on the Danube, driven by extreme heat and drought, have threatened the plant's cooling system and highlighted Europe's worsening climate crisis. Janos Kummer/Getty Images hide caption

On Monday, Romanian authorities conducted a controlled explosion in the river to redirect cooling water to its sole operational nuclear plant, in images captured by AFP . Low water levels had already forced Romania to close two nuclear reactors.

A nuclear power plant in Bulgaria has so far not reduced its capacity , despite low water levels in the Danube. However, last week, a cruise ship in Bulgaria was forced to evacuate almost 200 tourists after it went aground near the port city of Vidin , according to the Associated Press.

The Danube's retreat has also exposed World War II relics. In Serbia, drought has brought dozens of Nazi-era German warships, scuttled during the 1944 retreat, back into view — a stark reminder of how dramatically the river has receded.

An aerial view shows burned forest after a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. Petros Giannakouris/AP hide caption

Weeks of hot weather have led to ideal conditions for wildfires in Europe, which have been particularly destructive in Greece in recent days.

In the region of Western Attica, close to Athens, firefighters aimed to take advantage of a break in high winds to control a fire that has been burning since last week. On Monday, the flames had jumped containment lines to stop the fire from spreading.

Greek state media outlet ERT News reported on Tuesday morning that over 500 firefighters were tackling the blaze, including multiple helicopters. Fire department deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told the outlet that conditions were constantly changing, making the flames difficult to tackle.

On Sunday, two helicopters tackling the Western Attica fire collided in midair, killing two crew members. Last week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete, while a third was killed on the Peloponnesea region in southern Greece according to the Greek fire service.

In France, many of the major wildfires which raged last week are now under control, though maps showed some active fires in the southeast on Tuesday. Over the weekend most of the population of the southwestern Gironde region, near Bordeaux, were allowed to return home.

However, the fire has led to some unexpected discoveries: what are thought to be unexploded munitions from World War II. On Monday, Martial Zaninetti, the mayor of the commune of Le Porge, told French media outlet France Info that bomb disposal experts had been directed to the area.

A man splashes water on a horse to cool it off next to a bank of sand on the Danube River, as usually submerged areas are exposed due to extreme low levels of the water following an extended period of drought in Roseti, Romania, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Andreea Alexandru/AP hide caption

The record-breaking high temperatures have prompted official health warnings. In a heat wave bulletin published on Tuesday, the Italian Health Ministry said that 25 of the country's 27 major cities are on "red alert."

The ministry said all Italian cities would be elevated to red alert by Thursday.

On Sunday, the United Kingdom's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued heat health alerts for eight regions of England for the first half of the week, warning that rising temperatures may increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Record heat continues to be recorded across the continent. Overnight into Tuesday, the Czech Republic recorded its highest overnight temperature ever – more than 82 degrees Fahrenheit or 27.9 degrees Celsius– in the eastern town of Bystřice pod Hostýnem, the local media outlet CT24 reported .

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: NPR News. Open at source →