Hormuz reopening talks advance as strait stays closed EU ministers back Spain's Ceuta response as death toll rises Ebola deaths in DR Congo pass 1,600 as WHO calls response overstretched Hegseth denies munitions shortage after reports of depleted US missile stocks Mediators rebuke Israel after one of Gaza's deadliest days since the truce Ukrainian drones kill five near Moscow as Wildberries warehouses burn US says yen intervention aimed at containing Asian currency risks White House AI security review to exempt open-weight models UN warns of surging Afghan hunger as food aid funding falls short Houthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off Yemen Russian strikes kill four in Sumy and Mykolaiv Italy suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back Madrid Record low rivers force more reactors offline across Europe North Korea vows military response after Japan's defence white paper Anthropic model sent phishing emails on its own in safety test US AI figures call Chinese open-weight models safer as price gap widens Jordan questions US security alliance as Iranian attacks increase Netanyahu rules out Gaza withdrawal until Hamas disarms Stocks hit record as US signals Hormuz deal is close Oil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts prices US drafts ban on Chinese datacentre components Taiwan opens war games with first blockade scenario China's weather agency forecasts Super El Nino Anthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startup Officials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilities Russian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackouts Man arrested over largest Spokane wildfire Russian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacks Floods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri Lanka SpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listing Gaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubble Lebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome 25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffs Slowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitions EU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its use Finland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuel Kashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authority US revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in Washington Commission holds to permanent ban on Russian oil Fed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signals House panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hack Thousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of Hormuz Syria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander Abdi Russia claims capture of Kharkiv region village Ukraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closures Pilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports 'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliament Judge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner deal World Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economies Russia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply ban Hormuz reopening talks advance as strait stays closed EU ministers back Spain's Ceuta response as death toll rises Ebola deaths in DR Congo pass 1,600 as WHO calls response overstretched Hegseth denies munitions shortage after reports of depleted US missile stocks Mediators rebuke Israel after one of Gaza's deadliest days since the truce Ukrainian drones kill five near Moscow as Wildberries warehouses burn US says yen intervention aimed at containing Asian currency risks White House AI security review to exempt open-weight models UN warns of surging Afghan hunger as food aid funding falls short Houthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off Yemen Russian strikes kill four in Sumy and Mykolaiv Italy suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back Madrid Record low rivers force more reactors offline across Europe North Korea vows military response after Japan's defence white paper Anthropic model sent phishing emails on its own in safety test US AI figures call Chinese open-weight models safer as price gap widens Jordan questions US security alliance as Iranian attacks increase Netanyahu rules out Gaza withdrawal until Hamas disarms Stocks hit record as US signals Hormuz deal is close Oil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts prices US drafts ban on Chinese datacentre components Taiwan opens war games with first blockade scenario China's weather agency forecasts Super El Nino Anthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startup Officials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilities Russian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackouts Man arrested over largest Spokane wildfire Russian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacks Floods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri Lanka SpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listing Gaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubble Lebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome 25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffs Slowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitions EU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its use Finland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuel Kashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authority US revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in Washington Commission holds to permanent ban on Russian oil Fed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signals House panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hack Thousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of Hormuz Syria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander Abdi Russia claims capture of Kharkiv region village Ukraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closures Pilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports 'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliament Judge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner deal World Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economies Russia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply ban

Symbolic image: Record low rivers force more reactors offline across Europe

Symbolic image

Record low rivers force more reactors offline across Europe

5 sources

Europe's fourth heatwave of the summer has pushed the Rhine and Danube to record lows, taking nuclear reactors offline in France and Hungary. Barge freight is being cut back or moved to rail.

What happened

EDF shut Chooz reactor 1 late on Saturday, 1 August, under a 1998 Franco-Belgian Meuse accord; Chooz 2 has been offline since 11 July.
One Cattenom reactor went offline overnight into Saturday as the Moselle fell; EDF is also cutting output at four further reactors.
The Rhine at Kaub fell to 24 centimetres on Monday, the lowest since records began in 1880; Cologne hit 67 centimetres on Saturday.
Hungary's Paks plant, which supplies over 40 percent of national electricity, runs at just over 10 percent capacity as the Danube shrinks.
Low water exposed scuttled German WWII naval wrecks near Prahovo in Serbia, where around 200 vessels were sunk to block Soviet pursuers.

The view from outside

The National (UAE) is the only source to price the disruption: shipping diesel from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe costs the most since Bloomberg records began in 2009, and Rotterdam-Rhine cargo volumes are about 10 percent below normal. It quotes an analyst at the data firm Kpler saying the choice now is between blackouts and much higher investment.

What could happen next

Paks could stay idle for weeks; Hungary would import more power, after households and over 300 companies already cut use voluntarily.
It is open how long Meuse and Moselle limits keep French reactors down; the heatwave has stretched into this week.
Barges are loading less to pass shallow stretches, keeping freight rates elevated and slowing the Rhine corridor.
Le Monde reports the dry Rhine threatens to weigh on German GDP; that analysis is largely behind its paywall.