Hungary Pledges Water-Management Shift as Drought Deepens
Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Hungary will put water retention first as 99% of the country faces severe or extreme drought, officials said.
- Prime Minister Péter Magyar pledged to overhaul Hungary's water-management policy in late June, prioritizing water retention and repairing aging pipes that leak 20–25% of drinking water, costing 17 billion forints annually.
- A 2023 study published in Nature estimated Hungary has lost more than 80% of its historical wetlands, while a network of over 40,000 kilometers of drainage canals continues draining precipitation from fields to favor agriculture.
- With 99% of Hungary under severe or extreme drought, record-low Danube River levels threaten to shut down the Paks nuclear plant, while recreational lakes like Lake Garancsi have shrunk significantly in recent years.
- To prevent a shutdown at the Paks nuclear plant, Hungary's government sank two 80-meter barges upriver and installed a riverbed sill, while desertification threatens much of the Great Hungarian Plain.
- Biodiversity specialist Zsuzsanna Ujj of Friends of the Earth Hungary said the country must shift from drainage-based practices to water retention, warning that precipitation patterns will likely become more extreme with drier summers.
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33 Articles
Santa Maria Times
Independent EspañolGÁRDONY, Hungary (AP) — Last week, a fisherman disembarked from his boat in a small port on the Hungarian lake of Velence and worked up the pier runway, which has become extremely steep due to the fact that the...
Africa News
Business Elites AfricaHungary’s lakes and rivers hit record lows as severe drought deepens
Hungary is facing a severe water crisis, with prolonged heat and drought driving water levels sharply lower. Around 99% of the country is under severe or extreme drought, while desertification threatens the Great Hungarian Plain.
Video. Hungary’s lakes and rivers hit record lows as severe drought deepens
Video. Hungary is facing a severe water crisis, with prolonged heat and drought driving water levels sharply lower. Around 99% of the country is under severe or extreme drought, while desertification threatens the Great Hungarian Plain.
Associated Press News
Hungary drained its waters for generations. Now drought is exposing the cost
Record-low water levels at Lake Velence have made boating difficult and closed swimming beaches, offering a stark view of Hungary’s worsening water crisis.
Hungary is facing one of the worst water crises in the last decades, following the prolonged drought and the heat waves that hit Europe. Lakes that once attracted tourists have reached the end of the...
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