Why In News?

Hungary shut down its Paks Nuclear Power Plant — the first full shutdown in the plant's 44-year history — after the Danube River fell to record-low levels amid a severe Central European heatwave and drought.

About Danube River

  • Origin: Rises in the Black Forest, Germany.

  • Course: Flows eastward for about 2,850 km, making it Europe's second-longest river after the Volga, before draining into the Black Sea via the UNESCO-protected Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.

  • Countries it flows through: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine — it touches 10 countries, more than any other river in the world.

  • Major tributaries: Inn, Drava, Sava, and Tisza rivers.

  • Importance to Europe: Acts as a key inland navigation corridor (Rhine–Main–Danube Canal links the North Sea to the Black Sea).

About Paks Nuclear Power Plant?

  • Location: Paks town, south of Budapest, on the bank of the Danube.

  • Cooling water source: Draws water directly from the Danube to cool its reactor cores — a design of Soviet-era VVER reactors that were not built with dry-cooling alternatives.

  • Electricity generation: A four-reactor, Soviet-built plant with a total capacity of 2,000 MW, supplying close to half of Hungary's electricity.

  • Strategic importance: Hungary's first and only operational nuclear power station

Source: BBC

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Danube River:

1. It originates in the Alps in Switzerland.

2. It drains into the Black Sea.

3. It flows through 10 countries, the highest for any river in the world.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

(a) 1 and 2 only 

(b) 2 and 3 only 

(c) 1, 2 and 3 

(d) 3 only

Answer: (b)

Explanation: 

Statement 1: Incorrect. The river rises in Germany's Black Forest at the confluence of the Breg and Brigach streams.

Statement 2: Correct. It empties via a massive delta into the Black Sea.

Statement 3: Correct. It passes through 10 countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine), which is the highest number for any river globally.