en.Wedoany.com Reported - Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar warned on Sunday that record-low water levels in the Danube River have forced the country's only nuclear power plant, Paks, to halt operations for the first time in over 40 years, with the next five days being critical as a new heatwave approaches.

Large parts of Europe have recently been hit by persistent heatwaves and drought, with falling river levels raising concerns over water supplies, inland navigation, and energy production.

The Paks nuclear plant, which has four Russian-made reactors with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts, is currently operating at just over 10% power. The Danube's water level, used to cool the reactors, has previously dropped to record lows, and the water authority expects levels to continue falling in the coming days.

In a video posted on Facebook, Magyar stated, "We are facing the most difficult five days." If temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius as expected, the plant will shut down, putting immense strain on the power grid and public services, with the outage potentially lasting several weeks. He again urged households, businesses, and government agencies to reduce electricity use or shift consumption away from the peak hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. He also said the government would decide from Monday whether to impose mandatory power cuts on large enterprises.

The falling water levels have also disrupted shipping and tourism, with more than 100 towns and villages, including suburbs of the capital Budapest, implementing water restrictions. Mark Radnai, vice president of Hungary's Tisza Party, said the crisis could cost the country between 100 billion and 200 billion forints (approximately $315 million to $630 million) due to rising electricity import costs.