Water level of the Danube in Serbia, it is at a historic minimum, and due to the small amount of water in the riverbed, navigation, electricity production and the river ecosystem are threatened.
In the section from Bezdan to Slankamen, a minus of 139 centimeters was recorded. The only time the water level of the Danube in Serbia was lower was in 1909, when a level of minus 143 centimeters was measured.
According to the forecast of the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute, a further drop in the water level is expected, and a new historical minimum of minus 147 centimeters could be recorded on Monday, August 3.
Photo: Tanjug / Aleksandra OrlićThe Danube is getting shallower.
Emergency situation
Emergency situation was declared on the territory of Kula, Sombor and Vrbas.
The Republican Headquarters for Emergency Situations recommended that the competent authorities - Voda Vojvodina, Serbian waters and others - continue to take measures to ensure the functioning of the Danube-Tisa-Danube Hydrosystem, to mitigate the consequences of the low water level of the Danube and stable water supply for system users.
Due to the lack of precipitation and high temperatures, the water level of the Danube is very low in most of its basin.
Hydrologist of the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute, Dejan Vladiković, told RTS that since May, a severe drought has been going on in southern Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as that in Serbia, south of the Sava and Danube, there was a little more precipitation, but that it was not enough to improve the situation.
The lowest water levels were already recorded at the end of July, a month earlier than usual, and therefore no significant improvement is expected during August.
"We expect only sporadic precipitation, which will not be enough to recover the water level. In the next ten days, an additional drop of 10 to 15 centimeters is possible on the part of the Danube from Bezdan to Bogojevo, which will make the situation even more difficult," Vladiković said.
Source: FoNet/APRomania is among the largest exporters of grain to Europe, and this stoppage on the Danube comes in the middle of the export season.
Energy and supply
The Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, stated that the catastrophically low water level of the Danube seriously affects the work of the energy sector in Serbia, and that due to the reduced inflow of water, Hydroelectric power plant Djerdap 1 currently produces only about a third of the usual amount of electricity, reports RTS.
The minister also said that due to the long-term heat wave, the summer consumption of electricity reached the levels characteristic of the winter period, which is why she appealed to citizens to use electricity rationally and save whenever possible.
Although production in hydroelectric power plants has decreased, the supply of electricity to citizens is not threatened, he claims, the electric power system functions stably.
Also, during July, Serbia managed to import only 25 percent of the planned quantities of fuel due to the low water level of the Danube, so the Government approved the use of operational fuel reserves in order to ensure a stable supply.
River ecosystem and navigation
The drop in the level of the Danube has also seriously disrupted river traffic. Tourist boats almost no longer operate upstream, and cargo traffic functions with difficulty.
Captain Branislav Vajda warned that in some parts of Europe navigation has been temporarily suspended because the transport of goods has become unprofitable due to extremely low water levels. In some parts of Hungary, the guaranteed depth of the waterway is only about 1,3 meters, which is why many companies have stopped sailing and are waiting for the conditions to improve, writes "Nedeljnik".
Due to the low water level of the Danube, the flow of water has decreased, which, along with high temperatures and an increased amount of organic matter that is mostly discharged into the river through sewage, has led to greater pollution, reports Radio 021.
The Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina announced that the number of harmful microorganisms in the Danube is still within the permitted limits, but warns that there are risks to the health of certain sensitive groups of the population.
Due to the deteriorating water quality, the Institute recommends that you avoid consuming river fish during this period.
Photo: AP Photo/Nicolae DumitracheDanube in Romania, summer 2026
The situation in the region
In Hungary, due to the record low water level of the Danube, production at the Paks nuclear power plant will soon stop, which has never happened before, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar confirmed in his post on Facebook.
This nuclear power plant produces more than half of Hungary's electricity.
The Romanian state company Nuklearelektrika shut down the reactor at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant as a preventive measure on Tuesday, July 28, in order to prevent possible damage to the cooling system, the Ministry of Energy announced.
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