Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, Paks, is set to shut down fully as persistent drought and intense heat across Europe have driven the Danube River’s water level to a record low. Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced the decision on Sunday, saying the plant south of Budapest would cease operations completely for the first time in 44 years.

Paks normally supplies about one-third of Hungary’s total electricity demand. Its cooling system depends on water pumped from the Danube, but a lack of rainfall since May and successive heatwaves have reduced the river to its lowest recorded level. Magyar wrote on X that one of the final two generating units would be shut at 1:30 a.m.

He said the move would reduce the plant’s output to 240 megawatts before a complete closure the following day. The operator said on Friday that a full shutdown could be necessary by the middle of the following week if water levels continued to fall. National weather agency HungaroMet forecast temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in coming days, with 42 degrees possible on Thursday.