{"id":842509,"date":"2026-08-03T22:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/842509\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T22:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:00:09","slug":"romania-blasts-rock-to-divert-water-from-drought-hit-danube-to-nuclear-reactor-romania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/842509\/","title":{"rendered":"Romania blasts rock to divert water from drought-hit Danube to nuclear reactor | Romania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romanian naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to help redirect vital cooling water from the drought-hit Danube to the country\u2019s last working nuclear \u2060reactor, while neighbouring Hungary<\/a> \u200bsaid it may be able to eke out two more days of power from its only atomic plant.<\/p>\n

Hungary and Romania have been forced to shut down nuclear reactors<\/a> cooled by the Danube for the first time, as record-low water levels deepen fears of an energy crisis across the region.<\/p>\n

Romania has declared a nationwide state of emergency throughout August stemming from a decline in electricity production after record low Danube river levels<\/a> led to the shutdown at the Cernavod\u01ce nuclear plant.<\/p>\n

The Danube operation used 180kg of explosives, the Adev\u0103rul newspaper reported, to move a large rock restricting the flow of water in a blast that sent a tower of water \u2060into the air. The extraordinary measure underlined the scale of the crisis in Europe<\/a>, where heat and drought have lowered river levels and raised concerns about water supplies, river transport and power generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny day past Wednesday or Thursday that the nuclear power plant functions is a gain,\u201d Romania\u2019s defence minister, Radu Miru\u021b\u01ce, said on Monday. \u201cA day of it functioning is three times more efficient than the costs of this operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drought forced the shutdown of a reactor at Romania\u2019s only nuclear plant at Cernavod\u01ce. Photograph: Andreea Alexandru\/AP<\/p>\n

Experts said the controlled explosion would allow authorities to build a temporary dam, diverting more water into the channel serving Cernavod\u01ce\u2019s remaining reactor.<\/p>\n

With both countries\u2019 sole nuclear plants at reduced \u2060capacity, Hungary and Romania are increasingly relying on expensive power imports as heatwave conditions increase demand for electricity. Both countries use water \u200bfrom the Danube as coolant for their reactors.<\/p>\n

At Paks, Hungary\u2019s Soviet-era nuclear power station, output has been reduced. The 44-year-old plant, which normally generates almost half of the country\u2019s electricity, is operating at less than half its capacity. Authorities \u200cearlier said they might have to \u200cshut Paks as early as Sunday, but later said it could operate at its reduced capacity until Monday \u200cor Tuesday, offering a small reprieve for the power supply.<\/p>\n

Hungary\u2019s prime minister, P\u00e9ter Magyar, said the plant was expected to be fully shut down next week. With the Danube forecast to remain too shallow for the reactors\u2019 cooling systems, the closure could last for several weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn energy crisis situation could arise beginning Monday,\u201d he posted on X. \u201cCoordinated steps and restraint will be needed to avoid more severe consequences. We are counting on everyone!\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cToday and maybe tomorrow the last turbine producing 240 megawatts can keep working. This is very good news, as the complete shutdown of the plant can be avoided on one of the days with the \u200chighest consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partially dried-up Danube outside the Paks nuclear plant in Hungary. Photograph: Bernadett Szab\u00f3\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Magyar earlier said voluntary \u200bcuts in power usage had reduced \u200bdemand by 700MW on Sunday, significantly easing pressure on the grid.<\/p>\n

Adding to voluntary cuts by other companies, the pharmaceuticals company Richter said on Mondayit would reduce its electricity consumption by more than 50% in the next three weeks.<\/p>\n

In Serbia<\/a>, record-low Danube levels have pushed the country\u2019s key hydroelectric plant to operate with only 20% of its capacity, prompting the prime minister, Djuro Macut, to preside over an emergency meeting on Monday focusing on energy problems.<\/p>\n

Water levels are not expected to rise on the Danube in the coming days or even weeks as no significant rainfall is forecast. The river passes through 10 countries. In some stretches it has fallen to levels never previously recorded. The river\u2019s retreat has revealed rocks, shipwrecks, a second world war bomb and the remains of a woolly mammoth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The prehistoric bones were discovered on the exposed riverbed by a resident of Ryahovo, a village in northern Bulgaria. Experts from the regional history museum in the nearby city of Ruse were sent to examine the rare find.<\/p>\n

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Romanian naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to help redirect vital cooling water from the drought-hit Danube…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-842509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}