It’s impossible, though, to escape the immediacy of the rolling crises and record-breaking heat now facing the world’s fastest-warming continent.
Scientists link the increasing extremity and frequency of events such as heat waves and periods of low river levels to climate change.
“These events are part of a broader, well-documented pattern,” said Swenja Surminski, a professor at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.
“Europe is experiencing hotter and, in many regions, drier summers, making low river flows more frequent and severe,” she added.
Compared with a decade ago, periods of exceptionally low river levels are becoming less unusual, Surminski said, placing more frequent pressure on transport, energy systems and other water-dependent infrastructure.
The alarming trend is visible not just by day on the rocks of the Hungarian capital but in its pitch-black nights: The city has turned off the lights at major landmarks, while authorities urged Hungarians to curb their power use just as millions were seeking to cool their homes amid scorching temperatures that reached as high as 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.
It comes after prime minister Péter Magyar warned that the Paks nuclear power plant, which generates about half of the country’s electricity and uses water from the Danube to cool its reactors, was on the verge of shutting down for the first time in its history because of the low water levels.
The plant has been running at a fraction of its capacity, though the country has so far managed to avoid a complete shutdown. There was relief Friday as rain in neighboring Austria promised a rise of 8 to 12 inches in the Danube’s water levels.
About the Author
