Southeastern Europe Grapples with Energy Crunch as Heatwave Causes Record Low River Levels

Southeastern Europe is experiencing an energy crunch as a severe heatwave leads to record low water levels in major rivers, including the Danube. This situation is curtailing the transport of goods, reducing electricity output from hydropower plants, and affecting the cooling of nuclear power plants, such as Hungary's sole nuclear facility which was forced to shut down. In response, Romania's naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to divert water to the Old Danube and the Cernavodă nuclear power plant to aid its cooling.