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Elena Giordano, Politico
Hungary has been forced to shut down its only nuclear plant, which generates 40% of the country’s electricity, due to a record-breaking drought in central Europe, says Politico. It says prime minister Péter Magyar announced the closure of the Paks plant on Sunday, citing the “continued drop in water levels in the Danube River, which the plant uses for cooling”. The outlet continues: “A prolonged outage would cripple Hungary’s electricity supply at a time when temperatures are forecast to rise above 40C in Budapest next week amid an ongoing heatwave and drought across Europe.” The Financial Times says the plant has never been forced offline before. It adds: “Hungary has installed about 8GW [gigawatts] of solar capacity in recent years, helping it manage the gradual shutdown of the Paks reactor…Once the sun dims, however, Budapest has had to bring all its fossil-fuel plants online and increase electricity imports from a regional market that is already strained.”
Reuters says the crisis could cost Hungary as much as $632m. It adds: “The shutdown comes as large parts of Europe have been hit by prolonged heat and drought, driving river levels lower and raising concerns about water supplies, shipping and power generation.” The Associated Press says much of central Europe has been in “prolonged drought” in recent months “disrupting tourism, agriculture and industry and confronting residents with the realities of climate change”. Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Welle, Euractiv and Bloomberg all have the story, which features on the frontpage of today’s Daily Telegraph. Another Associated Press article says depth of the Danube was measured at just 23cm in Budapest, far below the previous record-low of 33cm, set in 2018. Bloomberg says heatwaves have “weakened” nuclear and hydro plants.
Bloomberg says Romania has issued a state of alert for its energy sector due to low Danube levels. It says the country has already shut down one of two nuclear reactors and may have to close a second, as a result. Citing a government press conference, it continues: “The Black Sea country will ask for support from neighboring Ukraine with power supply during peak hours and is also speeding up the connection to the grid of new renewable sources and battery storage units.” Reuters says low water levels on the Rhine in Germany are affecting cargo vessels and causing a “heavy rise in [freight] costs”. Another Reuters article says: “Record low water levels in Europe's major rivers have curtailed the transport of goods, reduced electricity output and shrunk company earnings, stoking fears about the economic impact of searing heat and erratic rainfall.”
Jung Da-hyun, The Korea Times
Temperatures reached a record-breaking 42.5C on Saturday in the city of Yangsan in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province, reports the Korea Times. It says this is the highest level reached in the country “since modern weather observation began in 1904”, amid a “record-breaking heatwave grip[ping]”. It continues that the “prolonged” heatwave has resulted in “casualties and disruptions across the country”, including 13 deaths. Agence France-Presse says more than 20 localities were under emergency heatwave alerts. It adds: “KMA [Korea Meteorological Administration] data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s.” The Korea Herald says the country had recorded temperatures of more than 40C for a “fourth straight day” on Saturday. The Guardian says another followed on Sunday and adds that authorities warned people to “immediately stop all outdoor activities”. Bloomberg, Reuters and Al Jazeera all have the story.
Delphine Strauss, Ian Johnston and Amy Borrett, Financial Times
Wildfires and heatwaves across Europe have “already cost more than €3bn this year”, reports the Financial Times. It says this cost, which will “eventually be far higher”, highlights the “mounting toll of blazes driven by climate change”. The newspaper says the estimate is based on methodology from the European Commission, but “far outstrips [the body’s] estimates of a €2.5bn average annual impact for the whole EU”. It adds that the costs of drought due to disrupted trade and power supplies (see above) have “yet to emerge”. The Guardian reports separate warnings that the “climate emergency and the breakdown of nature poses a dramatically growing risk to the global economy”, according to a “senior policymaker” at the European Central Bank. ABC News reports on Europe’s “dystopian” summer.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reports on Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez “speak[ing] plain truth to Spain’s deniers”. It adds: “[Sánchez] has a long history of speaking out on realities of global heating, but political opponents remain unmoved." The Guardian separately asks if “brutal wildfires [will] force French leaders to take the climate crisis seriously”. Deutsche Welle reports: “Germany: As temperatures rise, so does climate scepticism.” The Economist reports on “how the fires are making air quality more lethal”.
MORE ON EUROPE
Reuters: “Wildfires spread across Greece, conditions worsen in France and Spain.” BBC News: “Hundreds escape Greek wildfire by sea as blazes continue across Europe.” The outlet also reports “two killed after firefighting helicopters collide in Greece”. BBC News: “Italy putting nearly all major cities on highest heat alert.” Bloomberg: “Why Europe’s wildfires are so hard to put out.” Bloomberg: “Europe’s summer of blazes heralds the era of global megafires.” Bloomberg: “The age of unstoppable wildfires has reached Europe.” The New York Times: “Extreme heat has transformed what summer means.” The Financial Times: “Greece’s island fires expose risks of tourism boom.”
Helena Horton, The Guardian
The Guardian reports on the frontpage of today’s edition that the country “could face shortages of certain foods after punishing drought in parts of England”, according to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). It continues: “Farms across the country were affected by floods over the winter, making planting extremely difficult, and now in many areas they do not have access to water as irrigation is being restricted due to drought.” BBC News also reports the NFU warning. It says NFU head Tom Bradshaw “told the BBC that high temperatures and drought conditions had placed all areas of farming under increasing pressure”. It adds: “While droughts can occur naturally, climate change is making weather patterns more erratic, and heatwaves more frequent and intense. Scientists say there is a greater risk of droughts happening as a result, and of them being more severe and longer-lasting when they do.”
July is set to have been the driest on record, says another Guardian article, “as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer”. The Press Association says just 5.6mm of rain fell in England last month, according to provisional Met Office figures, less than half the previous record-low set in 1911. The Daily Telegraph also has the story. The Guardian reports on how the “UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops”. A further Guardian article reports on how the “speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers”. For Forbes, Ingmar Rentzhog of the We Don’t Have Time coalition writes under the headline: “Why climateflation will drive food prices more than war.”
MORE ON UK
The Guardian: “Solar powers record share of Britain’s electricity mix in July.” The newspaper also reports: “New solar panels in Great Britain at 15-year high as fossil fuel costs soar.” Financial Times: “‘Total devastation’: Suffolk confronts aftermath of unprecedented wildfire.” The Daily Telegraph: “As wildfires rage, Britain isn’t ready for its boiling hot future.” Also in the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph, several articles seek to blame fires on a “net-zero crackdown on farming”, “rewilding” and the “emptying countryside”. The Independent: “Reform council condemned for scrapping green pledges in wildfire-ravaged Suffolk.”
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