About 15 hotel boats are currently waiting on Hungary’s stretch of the Danube, while most cargo vessels are also at a standstill because of low water levels, the Ministry of Construction and Transport said on Tuesday.
Hotel boats, cargo ships at a standstill
It added that the Danube’s low level is hampering navigation not only in Hungary, but across almost the river’s entire 2,412-kilometre navigable length, making it difficult for vessels with a deeper draught to pass. For safety, there must be at least 10 centimetres of clearance between the bottom of a ship and the riverbed, the Hungarian news agency wrote.
The ministry said water authorities regularly survey the river, while the navigation authority issues notices warning mariners about shoals where the usual 270-centimetre depth is not available. The current water level determines what draught of vessel can safely proceed on each stretch of the river.
At such low levels, several “depth-deficient” sections have formed on the Hungarian stretch of the Danube, it noted. Some cargo vessels can move only after extreme lightening of their load — to just 10 to 20 per cent of capacity.
Historic low Danube water level
The ministry also said the navigation authority is not imposing restrictions on traffic because of the low water. Instead, captains are expected to decide whether to continue based on the published and current water and shoal data, as well as their own vessel’s draught.
The National Water Directorate told MTI on Tuesday afternoon that no noteworthy rainfall is expected over the next few days, either in the Alpine Danube catchment area or in the Tisza basin. At the same time, another heatwave is affecting the Alps and the Carpathian Basin, meaning water levels are likely to stagnate or fall slowly over the coming days on the Hungarian stretch of the Danube, as well as on the unregulated reaches of the Tisza. Very low riverbed saturation is expected to persist.
On Tuesday morning, the Danube’s water level in Budapest fell to a record low of 31 centimetres, surpassing the previous low of 33 centimetres recorded on 25 October 2018. By 5pm, it had dropped further, to 28 centimetres.
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Danube and Tisza basins to remain parched in coming days
The Danube’s Alpine catchment areas and the Tisza basin are likely to see precious little rainfall in the coming days, according to the latest forecasts, so very low riverbed waters will persist, the Hungarian news agency wrote.
Another heatwave is affecting the Alps and the Carpathian Basin, so stagnant or slowly receding water levels are expected in the Hungarian section of the Danube and the unregulated sections of the Tisza in the coming days, the National Directorate General for Water Management said in a statement on Tuesday.
This morning Danube level in Budapest dropped to a record low of 31cm, breaking the previous record of 33cm set on October 25, 2018. Since then, the level has fallen even further, reaching 26cm by 2pm.
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