Symbolic imageThe Rhine's Kaub gauge hit a record six centimetres overnight into Saturday, halting most freight and pushing cargo onto road and rail, while Hungary sinks barges to keep its nuclear plant's cooling intake supplied and drought-hit harvests come in weeks early.
Hungary's only nuclear power station, Paks, stands on the Danube and draws its cooling water directly from the river. It has run for 44 years and covers close to half of national electricity demand. That dependence ties the country's power supply to the river's water level.
The Rhine gauge at Kaub fell to six centimetres overnight into Saturday, the lowest ever measured there, halting most freight. Hungary is sinking two barges to raise the Danube at its nuclear plant's cooling intake.
Extreme heat has pushed Europe's harvests weeks early and cut yields. Low rivers are throttling freight and reactor cooling; Britain gave farmers £65m on Friday.
Romania took its only nuclear plant off the grid on Thursday after drought pushed the Danube to record lows. Moldova, which leans on Romanian power, is exposed.
France's ecology minister put this summer's heat at up to €15bn; a British thinktank counted £4.4bn in lost output. Record-low rivers are hitting freight and power.
Persistent low water on the Rhine is forcing the first companies to cut production, and shifting deliveries entirely to road is barely possible, FAZ reported on Tuesday. Swiss Re put worldwide economic losses from natural disasters in the first half of the year at $100 billion, a sharp decline.
Germany's inland shipping association expects the Rhine gauge at Kaub to fall to single digits this week, splitting the waterway. Chemical firms and retailers warn of bottlenecks.
Germany's inland shipping association expects the Rhine gauge at Kaub to fall to a single digit this week for the first time, splitting Europe's busiest waterway in two.
Romania finished blowing up four barges in the Danube overnight to lift water levels at the Cernavoda nuclear plant. Drought and heat are fuelling fires from Spain to Albania.
Half of England and all of Wales are officially in drought after England recorded its driest July since records began almost two centuries ago, the Guardian reported on Friday. Hungary separately warned of a dramatic economic hit from drought combined with a nuclear power outage, according to Bloomberg.
Power plants in six EU countries are idle because rivers are running low and warm, while shallow water has crippled cargo shipping on the Rhine. The European Commission called the bloc's energy situation tense on Thursday but saw no immediate supply risk.
Drought has pushed the Rhine to historic lows, bringing freight traffic on Germany's most important waterway to a near standstill. Record heat across Europe is straining power plants, farms and health services.
Europe's fourth heatwave of the summer has pushed the Rhine and Danube to record lows, taking nuclear reactors offline in France and Hungary. Barge freight is being cut back or moved to rail.
Le Monde reported on Monday that historically low levels on the Danube have forced several central European countries to shut down part of their nuclear reactors, and that Hungary has told companies to prepare for an energy crisis. Bloomberg reported the same day that the Rhine had fallen to its lowest level since 1880, threatening freight traffic on Europe's main inland waterway.
Hungary fully shut down its only nuclear power plant near Paks for the first time on Sunday after record-low water levels in the Danube cut off cooling water; the plant normally covers half the country's electricity demand. Prime Minister Péter Magyar told broadcaster RTL the shutdown could last more than a month, and the government has called on households to save electricity.
Hungary powered down the Paks nuclear plant on Sunday, the first full halt in its 44-year history, after record-low Danube levels cut off cooling water. The plant supplies nearly half of the country's electricity.