Record low water levels in Hungary: what is happening to our rivers?

Abstract

Due to warming, increasing evaporation, extreme precipitation events, and longer dry periods, extreme hydrological events – both low water levels and floods – may become increasingly frequent. The consequences of low water levels are also exacerbated by the deepening of the riverbeds of a significant part of Hungarian rivers which has been going on for decades. This will not happen every year, but the frequency of situations that now seem extreme will increase, so this must be considered at the strategic and planning levels. Restoring the natural behavior of rivers, increasing water retention, transforming landscape use, developing sediment management, modernizing existing technical facilities, or even using new water infrastructures can be complementary tools. The article by János Józsa, Sándor Baranya, and Gábor Timár was written at the request of Mihály Pósfai, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in the first days of August 2026.