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drought

The shutdown lands in the middle of a European heatwave, which raises two problems simultaneously rather than one. Heat drives up electricity demand, largely through air conditioning and refrigeration, at precisely the moment Hungary is losing its single largest source of domestic generation. It also worsens the underlying drought, since higher temperatures increase evaporation and reduce the snowmelt and rainfall that would otherwise replenish the Danube's flow.

  • Paks has operated continuously for 44 years without a shutdown of this kind.
  • The plant typically supplies roughly 40 to 50% of Hungary's total electricity generation.
  • The closure is caused by low river levels affecting the cooling intake, not a fault within the plant.
  • The shutdown coincides with a broader European heatwave that is simultaneously raising electricity demand for cooling.

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