Romania’s state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica could be forced to shut down its last operating reactor at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant as early as Thursday, Aug. 13, if water levels in the Danube River continue to decline, officials said on Tuesday. The warning comes as southeastern Europe experiences a prolonged heatwave and severe drought that has pushed the Danube to exceptionally low levels. Media outlet reported that the reactor’s cooling system depends on sufficient river flow, and authorities are monitoring the situation closely as forecasts indicate further declines later this week.

Cernavodă is Romania’s only nuclear power station and normally provides about 20% of the country’s electricity. One of its two reactors has already been shut down, leaving Unit 2 as the sole source of nuclear generation. A full shutdown would increase pressure on Romania’s power grid and could force the country to rely more heavily on electricity imports at a time when neighboring countries are also facing energy shortages.

The Romanian government has launched emergency measures to keep the reactor operating. These include dredging sections of the Danube, blasting rock obstructions near the Bala Canal, and sinking rock-filled barges to redirect more water toward the plant’s cooling intake. Officials said the intervention may extend the reactor’s operation by several days, but they cautioned that it is not a long-term solution if the drought persists.

Water management authorities said flows around Cernavodă briefly improved after earlier diversion efforts, but forecasts now suggest levels could fall again through the remainder of the week. Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has urged households and businesses to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours and has maintained a nationwide energy alert as a precaution.

The crisis highlights the growing vulnerability of nuclear and hydropower infrastructure to extreme weather conditions across Europe. Low river levels have already disrupted shipping, hydropower production, and industrial operations along the Danube, while neighboring Hungary has also had to reduce output at its Paks nuclear plant because of insufficient cooling water.

Energy analysts say the immediate priority is to maintain safe cooling operations at Cernavodă, but the episode is likely to intensify calls for greater investment in energy storage, grid modernization, and diversified power generation to reduce dependence on river conditions during increasingly frequent droughts and heatwaves.

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