Europe resorts to drastic measures as rivers dry up, bringing energy and economic pain

EuropeEurope resorts to drastic measures as rivers dry up, bringing energy and economic painIt’s impossible to escape the consequences of the rolling crises and record-breaking heat now facing the world’s fastest-warming continent, as critical rivers hit record lows.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00A controlled underwater explosion in the riverbed of the Danube in Izvoarele village, Romania, on Monday.Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 8, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Yuliya TalmazanSweltering heat waves. Deadly, unprecedented wildfires. And now Europe’s key rivers are drying up, threatening to wreak new havoc across the continent in this summer of climate extremes.Authorities have blown up riverbeds, ordered energy-saving measures and shut down nuclear reactors in an effort to stave off the crisis. But it’s already fueling disruption and economic costs.The record low water levels could be seen this week from the Danube to the Rhine, waterways at the heart of Europe’s identity and industry. Sunken World War II ships have even emerged from beneath the rivers, as the crisis exposes relics of Europe’s war-defined past, as well as the dangers of heat and drought that may define its future.Riverbed dries upThe Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, flows through 10 countries and is used to cool nuclear reactors that Hungary, Romania and other central European nations rely on for energy supplies.Its water levels have dropped to never-before-seen lows across some sections of its course, which runs from the Black Forest mountains of western Germany to the eastern Black Sea. “I’ve walked along this river my whole life, so I know what it’s supposed to look like — and seeing it this low is a bit unsettling,” Agnes Molnar, who guides free walking tours in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, told NBC News in an email. “You start noticing things you never used to see: rocks, sandbanks, parts of the riverbed that are usually underwater,”...