Austria sets heat record; Hungary curbs power

Austria’s national weather service said Bad Deutsch-Altenburg reached 41.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, setting a new national temperature record as the latest European heat wave moved east. Hungarian authorities, facing severe drought and pressure on the power grid, asked households and companies to curb electricity use this week. Italy, meanwhile, placed all 27 cities in its heat surveillance system under red alert on Thursday, while wildfires burned in parts of the Balkans. ### Where was Austria’s record set, and what did it replace? GeoSphere Austria said the 41.2C reading was recorded in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, near the Slovak border. ABC News Australia, citing the weather service, said the previous national record of 41C had been set a day earlier in nearby Vienna. Associated Press also reported that the 41.2C mark was the highest temperature ever recorded in Austria. (abc.net.au) Austria is also dealing with drought. Associated Press reported that nationwide rainfall from Jan. 1 through June 30 was 27% below the long-term average, with some eastern regions receiving only half their normal precipitation. ### Why did Hungary ask people to use less power? Hungary asked companies and households to reduce electricity consumption after drought and low water levels on the Danube strained the country’s energy system. (abc.net.au) ABC News Australia reported that the government appeal came as Budapest headed into the peak of the heat wave, with temperatures nearing 40C on Wednesday. (abcnews.com) The Paks nuclear plant is central to that pressure. ABC News Australia said dwindling Danube water levels forced Hungary to largely shut down its sole nuclear plant, which uses river water for cooling, creating what it described as an energy crisis that stretched supply capacity to its limits. ### How is the Danube tied to the power problem? (abc.net.au) The Danube is both a shipping artery and a source of cooling water for power generation in Central Europe. In Hungary’s case, low river levels have reduced the water available for the Paks plant, tightening electricity supply during a period of very high demand for cooling. ABC News Australia linked the government’s conservation appeal directly to those low water levels and the curbs at the nuclear station. (abc.net.au) Associated Press said the wider heat wave was disrupting energy and transport systems across the continent. That included drought-related problems for shipping and power generation in Central Europe as temperatures climbed above 40C in several countries. ### What else is happening across Europe? Italy’s Health Ministry placed all 27 monitored cities on red alert on Thursday, the first time this year the entire network had been under the highest warning level at once, according to Associated Press. (abc.net.au) The alerts covered cities from Trieste to Palermo and signaled risk for the general population, not only older people or those with chronic illnesses. (abcnews.com) Albania was battling a wildfire in the southern region of Mallakaster, ABC News Australia reported, while the same report said Moldova was instructing residents to conserve water. The Vatican also moved Pope Leo’s first weekly general audience after the July break indoors because of the heat, rather than hold it in St. Peter’s Square. (abcnews.com) ### Where does the heat wave go next? ABC News Australia said on Thursday that the center of the heat wave was moving farther east across the continent. Moldova was expected to reach 38C on Thursday, and Budapest was forecast to face the peak of the heat over the next two days. Italy’s red alerts remained in place Thursday, and authorities across Central and Southern Europe were continuing to manage drought, wildfire and energy disruptions. (abc.net.au)