The Romanian military blew up an underwater rock mass in the Danube River on the 3rd to guide the river flow to the country's only nuclear reactor still in operation and ease the plight of insufficient cooling water for the nuclear reactor caused by many days of drought. According to reports from various media such as Bloomberg News and Reuters, Romanian soldiers used about 180 kilograms of explosives to break a rock mass in the Danube riverbed. This move has no precedent in the country. Acting Minister of Defense Radu Dinel Mirutze said that the main purpose of the move was to divert water into the source channel of cooling water at the country's Chernavod nuclear power plant, so that the only nuclear reactor still in operation at the nuclear power plant would be shut down. The Danube River is more than 2,800 kilometers long. It flows through more than ten European countries and flows into the Black Sea from Romania. Due to repeated heatwaves in Europe this year and severe droughts in many places, the water level in the Danube River fell to its lowest level in 30 years, and the supply of cooling water for the Chernavod nuclear power plant equipment was insufficient. Romania stopped operating one of the reactors at the nuclear power plant on July 28, local time. The nuclear power plant is the only nuclear power plant in Romania, and its two nuclear reactors originally supplied about 20% of the country's electricity. According to Mirutzer, the cooling water flow of the country's nuclear facilities is currently close to the lower limit of safety standards, and the authorities are doing their best to increase the water supply. The military said that after blowing up the rock mass, a temporary dam will be built to divert water, and related projects are expected to be completed on August 4. Mirutzer said, “Even if the nuclear power plant is operated for one more day, the benefits will be three times the cost of this blasting and dam construction operation.” In Hungary, Romania's neighboring country, its only nuclear power plant, the Paukesh nuclear power plant, also faced the problem of insufficient cooling water due to the low water level in the Danube River. The nuclear power plant usually supplies about half of the country's electricity needs, but as of the 3rd, its power generation capacity was only about 10% of the design capacity, and the Hungarian government says this level may only be maintained for two days. Both governments called on their residents and businesses to save electricity. Romanian Prime Minister Bolojan announced that the automobile manufacturer Dacia and Ford have agreed to suspend production until August 19, voluntarily reducing electricity consumption by about 200 megawatts. Hungarian Prime Minister Magyor said that households and businesses that responded to the call had saved 700 megawatts of electricity as of the 2nd; the country's Jiri Pharmaceuticals announced on the 3rd that it will cut electricity consumption by more than 50% over the next three weeks and contribute 4 megawatts of electricity per day to its solar power plant.

The Romanian military blew up an underwater rock mass in the Danube River on the 3rd to guide the river flow to the country's only nuclear reactor still in operation and ease the plight of insufficient cooling water for the nuclear reactor caused by many days of drought. According to reports from various media such as Bloomberg News and Reuters, Romanian soldiers used about 180 kilograms of explosives to break a rock mass in the Danube riverbed. This move has no precedent in the country. Acting Minister of Defense Radu Dinel Mirutze said that the main purpose of this move was to divert water into the source channel of cooling water at the country's Chernavod nuclear power plant, so that the only nuclear reactor still in operation at the nuclear power plant would be shut down. The Danube River is more than 2,800 kilometers long. It flows through more than ten European countries and flows into the Black Sea from Romania. Due to repeated heatwaves in Europe this year and severe droughts in many places, the water level in the Danube River fell to its lowest level in 30 years, and the supply of cooling water for the Chernavod nuclear power plant equipment was insufficient. Romania stopped operating one of the reactors at the nuclear power plant on July 28, local time. The nuclear power plant is the only nuclear power plant in Romania, and its two nuclear reactors originally supplied about 20% of the country's electricity. According to Mirutzer, the cooling water flow of the country's nuclear facilities is currently close to the lower limit of safety standards, and the authorities are doing their best to increase the water supply. The military said that after blowing up the rock mass, a temporary dam will be built to divert water, and related projects are expected to be completed on August 4. Mirutzer said, “Even if the nuclear power plant is operated for one more day, the benefits will be three times the cost of this blasting and dam construction operation.” In Hungary, Romania's neighboring country, its only nuclear power plant, the Paukesh nuclear power plant, also faced the problem of insufficient cooling water due to the low water level in the Danube River. The nuclear power plant usually supplies about half of the country's electricity needs, but as of the 3rd, its power generation capacity was only about 10% of the design capacity, and the Hungarian government says this level may only be maintained for two days. Both governments called on their residents and businesses to save electricity. Romanian Prime Minister Bolojan announced that the automobile manufacturer Dacia and Ford have agreed to suspend production until August 19, voluntarily reducing electricity consumption by about 200 megawatts. Hungarian Prime Minister Magyor said that households and businesses that responded to the call had saved 700 megawatts of electricity as of the 2nd; the country's Jiri Pharmaceuticals announced on the 3rd that it will cut electricity consumption by more than 50% over the next three weeks and contribute 4 megawatts of electricity per day to its solar power plant.