Cernavoda nuclear power plant is at risk of shutting down both operating reactors at Cernavoda in Constanta, Romania, on August 4, 2026 due to low flows in the Danube River. The Cernavoda nuclear power plant is Romania’s only nuclear power plant and produces approximately 20% of the country’s electricity.
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A hot and unusually dry summer has disrupted Europe’s nuclear power plants and prompted governments to take extraordinary measures to maintain energy supplies.
In Romania, state nuclear power company Nuclear Electrica warned it could shut down its last operating reactor as soon as Thursday, as water levels in Romania’s 1,770-mile Danube River, a vital economic artery, continue to fall.
Romania, which has declared an energy emergency until August, has taken unprecedented measures, including dredging the strait and sinking a rocky barge.
The Romanian Navy last week carried out a controlled underwater explosion on the riverbed to improve water flow to the Cernavoda power plant’s cooling system.
The two reactors of one operational nuclear power plant in Romania are operated by Nuclearelectrica and typically provide about one-fifth of the country’s electricity.
In Hungary, the government is enjoying some respite after rain has raised water levels on the Danube River, allowing another turbine at the Paks nuclear power plant to restart.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said via social media on Monday that two of the power plant’s eight turbines were starting to generate electricity again, providing some relief to the facility that provides electricity for nearly half the country.
In France, where nuclear power supplies about 70% of the country’s electricity, power company EDF announced on Wednesday that it had cut the output of several nuclear reactors, citing environmental concerns.
EDF also shut down three reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France earlier this week due to a “massive influx of jellyfish” and activated automatic precautionary measures.
This is the second year in a row that the nuclear reactor at the facility, one of Japan’s largest, has been shut down due to a swarm of jellyfish.
Photo of a controlled underwater explosion on the Danube riverbed in the village of Izvoarele on August 3, 2026. The purpose of the explosion was to deepen the channel and direct more water into the cooling system of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.
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France has reportedly been forced to shut down a record number of its nuclear power plants this summer due to prolonged heatwave, wildfires and drought. Indeed, nuclear power plants are often built near rivers or coastlines, so they use nearby water sources to cool the reactor.
European governments are considering a range of options to reduce the impact of nuclear power’s vulnerability to heat waves and low water levels, including adding or upgrading cooling systems or scheduling maintenance during periods of extreme heat.
Treat this as a “slightly delayed” emergency
In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham convened a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Wednesday in response to extreme heat, bushfires and drought.
The move marks the second Cobra meeting of the year during a heatwave and comes as the country prepares for temperatures to reach a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday.
“I think a lot of people are suggesting that it’s a little premature to treat this as an emergency,” Gareth Lemond-King, director of international programs at the Energy and Climate Information Agency, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.
“What this heat wave and all the ripple effects like wildfires and droughts that are affecting our rivers are telling us is that our climate system is in crisis. This is not going to pass easily,” Lemond-King said.
“This situation promises not only to continue this summer, but to continue to get worse. If we continue to burn fossil fuels, add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and further increase temperatures, we will push the climate system into even greater crisis,” he added.
Heatwave could wipe out EU economic growth in 2026
Europe’s extreme summer weather is not just threatening energy infrastructure. This impact is likely to hinder economic growth as well.
The negative impact of Europe’s scorching summer could reach an economic cost of 180 billion euros ($207.7 billion), mainly due to reduced labor productivity, according to an analysis published by Dutch bank Triodos on August 8.
A bulk carrier sails through the Rhine River channel over a riverbed exposed when the water level drops, Monday, August 10, 2026, in Kaub, Germany.
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This is equivalent to about 1% of the European Union’s gross domestic product, and exactly the level at which the 27-nation bloc’s economy is expected to grow this year.
“The main impacts of heat on EU GDP are reduced agricultural output and increased food prices, reduced energy production and increased electricity prices, traffic disruption and increased transport costs, and reduced labor productivity,” Triodos said in the report.
