DW: The blue Danube, also known as “Europe’s eighth sea”, looks like a stream – What does its low level mean?

In Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania sand islands were formed in the bed of the Danube. Many ships cannot continue sailing and power stations lack cooling water. At least so far no dead fish have washed up. Even in Germany, the country where it originates, the nearly 2,900 km long river carries very little water. The first cruises had to be cancelled, while others changed their itineraries. In order to prevent fish kills like in the Oder River, local authorities have announced that they may ban dredging and other measures that could worsen the ecological situation in the river.

Small de-escalation in Hungary

Since last weekend (August 20/21, 2022) strong storms have slightly eased the situation in Hungary. In the summers, at the end of August, there was always a long line of cruise ships on the Danube bank in Budapest. In recent weeks however only a few smaller hotel boats had docked there, unable to continue due to low water levels.

But Danube water is also important to Hungary’s energy supply – it cools both conventional power plants and the country’s only nuclear power plant. Due to the increased water temperature, the reactors of the Pax nuclear power plant were unable to operate fully last week. Energy losses of up to about 15 percent per reactor are not uncommon in very hot summers – but nuclear power is currently very cheap in Hungary compared to all other energy sources.

Above all, the Danube ecosystem is going through difficult days in the summer of 2022. At least so far there has been no mass extinction of the river’s fauna. Although hundreds of dead fish were found in a Danube tributary on August 4, the situation was defused thanks to a dam, through which more water was transferred from the main river to the tributary.

Sandy beaches in Serbia

In Serbia, the banks of the Danube resemble endless sandy beaches this summer. Water levels are currently up to fifty percent below the August average. Swimming in one of Europe’s largest rivers is no longer just for children. In some places you can even walk from one side to the other.

“2022 is one of the driest years on record,” Jelena Jerinic from the Serbian Hydrometeorological Institute (RHMZ) told DW. “In Zemun, for example, the water level of the Danube has been below the navigation level of 190 cm for days – but still well above the historical low of 134 cm in 1983.”

Bulgaria: No problem in Kozloduy

In Vidin, at the beginning of the Bulgarian part of the Danube, many barges are waiting for the water level to rise to continue transporting goods. Currently they can only run with 30-40 percent of their load, which is not profitable for companies.

The low water level, however, is not the worst ever measured in the Bulgarian part of the Danube – in 2003 the level was even lower. Nevertheless, there were no problems with the cooling of the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy at that time. There will be no difficulties this year either, claims the management of the nuclear power plant.

Romania: Limitation of production at Cernavoda nuclear power plant

In Romania, the water level at the lowest point of the Danube – in the middle of the river between the island of Kalinovat and the small town of Turnu Magurele – was already on August 6, 2022 almost as low as at the end of August 2003, when we again had a record low level of water: at 1.87 meters in the middle of the river. 19 years ago the water had dropped to 1.80 meters. There is a good chance that this record will be broken this year: forecasters do not expect rain in the coming weeks.

In 2003, the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda was shut down for almost a month. So far, the supply of cooling water in the summer of 2022 has been “seamless”, assures Romania’s Environment Minister Barna Tangtsos. However, he also spoke of measures to limit production “due to the lack of water”. In some areas water consumption for private households has now decreased and irrigation of gardens and small fields has been limited.

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