Drought in Europe: Danube and Rhine at Historic Lows, Economic Production Declines
Europe is facing an extreme drought that has caused water levels in the Danube and Rhine to drop to record lows. This has triggered an energy crisis, logistics disruptions, and rising food prices.
The weather continues to harm the European economy. After heatwaves and fires, Europe is also dealing with a drought that has lowered water levels in the Danube and Rhine rivers to record lows, shrinking energy production, disrupting maritime trade, and damaging tourism sectors.
Following the situation, Hungary and Romania were forced, for the first time in their history, to shut down nuclear reactors that rely on the Danube for cooling. The water level in the river, which flows through ten countries, has dropped to a historic low, exposing rocks, shipwrecks, and even the remains of an ancient mammoth. Thus, in Serbia, the low water level of the Danube exposed German ships sunk during World War II.
Paks, the largest nuclear power plant in Hungary, which provides nearly half of the country's electricity, has been reducing production since last week. Prime Minister Péter Magyar confirmed that it is operating at less than 50% capacity and will be completely shut down during the week. This closure may last several weeks because the water level in the Danube is expected to remain too low to restart it. "An energy crisis could break out as early as Monday," he wrote on X. "Coordinated measures and restrictions will be needed to avoid more serious consequences. We are counting on you."
At the same time, authorities in Hungary asked citizens to reduce electricity consumption as much as possible during peak hours, including avoiding charging electric cars and turning off air conditioners. In neighboring Romania, authorities shut down one reactor unit at the Cernavodă power plant earlier this week for safety reasons and announced that a second unit would be shut down shortly thereafter. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan called on residents to reduce electricity consumption in the evening hours. In addition, the low water level of the Danube caused the cancellation of tourist cruises and the cessation of cargo ship operations.
The situation is not expected to improve soon, as there is no forecast for rain in the coming days and temperatures are expected to reach more than 38 degrees. "The river has never dried up like this," Hungarian Rosen Dobrev told the AFP news agency. "We can now walk to Romania."
The water level in the Rhine river in Germany has also dropped to a low, against the backdrop of a heatwave and a prolonged period of dry weather. The shallow water caused cargo on freight ships to be reduced to 20% of normal capacity, so more ships are needed to transport the same amount of cargo, which makes shipping more expensive. The Rhine river is a critical shipping artery for transporting grain, minerals, ores, coal, and petroleum products, so the disruptions create potential bottlenecks for companies in the largest economy in the European Union.
"The volume of goods to be transported is so large that it will be difficult to use trains or trucks, especially given the fact that some vital junctions are closed due to work," Mark Schattenberg, an economist at Deutsche Bank, told the Financial Times. Economists even warned that the disruptions due to shallow water on the Rhine could shave 0.2 percentage points off German growth. The German chemical production company BASF announced expected disruptions at its plants located along the riverbank. "One can expect announcements of force majeure and product shortages," the CEO said.
In the UK, the drought is forcing retail chains, restaurants, and pubs to import vegetables from countries like Spain. Thus, the wholesale price of tomatoes jumped by more than 60%, the price of lettuce by 90%, and potatoes by more than 40%, after the local harvest was damaged by heat and drought. "This is the hardest year we have experienced," a carrot grower in Yorkshire concluded. "It just breaks the heart and the wallet... the crops are wilting in place."
Broccoli growers said the harvest was cut in half this year. "There is a shortage of broccoli in the UK right now, so they are importing from Spain and the Netherlands to cover orders," David Simmons, chairman of the Broccoli Growers Association, told The Guardian. "There could be a shortage of cauliflower in about two weeks." In light of the situation, the heads of the major supermarket chains in the kingdom turned to the incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and warned of damage to the UK's food security. They called on the government to make the food system a national priority and reduce dependence on imports.
