05.08.2026

Hungary's water situation in 2026: why are water levels so low, and is the drinking water supply at risk?

The water situation in Hungary in the summer of 2026 became increasingly apparent to many people. Previously submerged areas along the Danube are now exposed, exceptionally low water levels are being recorded on some stretches of the Tisza, and much of the Great Hungarian Plain is affected by drought. The situation is serious, but it is important to distinguish between river levels, soil moisture, shallow groundwater reserves and the piped drinking water supply. Low river levels do not automatically mean that Hungary has run out of drinking water or that tap water has become unsafe to drink. They are, however, a clear warning that the balance between the replenishment and use of water resources is becoming increasingly fragile. The immediate cause of the exceptionally low water levels is the prolonged precipitation deficit across the entire catchments of the Danube, the Tisza and their tributaries. Hot weather increases evaporation, while dry soils contribute less water to rivers and groundwater resources.

How low are water levels on the Danube and Tisza now?

According to the National Hydrological Forecasting Service's report dated 2 August 2026, water levels along the Hungarian stretch of the Danube were generally exceptionally low. Exceptionally low values were also measured on the free-flowing stretch of the Tisza between Kisköre and Martfű. Calculations for the following six days indicated levels below the previously recorded lowest water level (LKV) at several locations on the Danube downstream of Komárom and on the Tisza between Kisköre and Szolnok. At 9:00 a.m. on 3 August 2026, the Danube's water level was 12 centimetres in Budapest, minus 138 centimetres in Paks and minus 24 centimetres in Baja. These values always show the water level relative to the local zero point of the gauge concerned. A negative reading therefore does not mean that the river has a 'negative depth' or has dried up, and readings from different locations cannot be compared directly. According to the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF), the Danube's current natural discharge is lower than any previously measured value. This distinction is particularly important because water level is a local gauge reading, whereas discharge shows how much water actually passes through a river cross-section over a given period.

What is causing the low water levels?

1. The lack of precipitation extends beyond Hungary

Water levels on the Danube and Tisza are not determined solely by rainfall in Hungary. Both rivers receive water from large catchments spanning several countries. If precipitation remains low in the Alps, the Carpathians and the rivers' upper catchments, less discharge reaches Hungary as well. According to the OVF, the primary cause of the Danube's exceptionally low-flow conditions is the precipitation deficit across the catchment and the resulting low natural discharge. Water-control structures on the upper reaches can temporarily regulate or store water, but in the long term they cannot 'hold back the Danube': they must pass on the natural inflow they receive.

2. Spring 2026 was exceptionally dry

Total precipitation across Hungary in spring 2026 barely exceeded half of the 1991-2020 average. March received two-thirds of its usual precipitation, May four-fifths, but April only one-tenth of the long-term average. At the same time, spring 2026 was the ninth warmest spring in the record dating back to 1901, with the national average temperature 1 degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 average. Combined with the low precipitation, this accelerated soil drying and increased vegetation's water demand.

3. Summer showers did not make up the deficit

According to HungaroMet data, in July 2026 the majority of the month's precipitation across much of the country fell during the first two days. After that, meaningful rainfall was largely confined to western, south-western and north-eastern areas. In parts of the Great Hungarian Plain and north-eastern Transdanubia, total precipitation for the entire month of July did not reach 5 millimetres. An isolated severe thunderstorm can therefore be misleading. A large amount of rain may fall on a small area in a short time, but much of it may run off over the surface, especially where the soil is dry and compacted. A sustained rise in river levels would require not isolated showers, but longer-lasting precipitation affecting most of the catchment.

4. Heat increases water loss

At higher temperatures, more water evaporates from soils, lakes and vegetation. As a result, under warmer conditions a smaller share of the same amount of precipitation can replenish the soil and groundwater resources. Shallow groundwater is replenished primarily by infiltrating precipitation. At the same time, these reserves are reduced by evaporation, plant uptake, natural movement towards surface waters and human abstraction.

5. Water-storage options are limited

On the main branch of the Danube in Hungary, there is no barrage capable of storing a significant volume of water during high-flow periods and then releasing it in a controlled manner during low-flow periods. The flow regime of the Hungarian stretch of the Danube therefore directly follows the natural discharge arriving from upstream. This does not mean that large river barrages are the only possible solution. Floodplains, side arms, wetlands, canals, smaller reservoirs, the soil's capacity to absorb water and urban stormwater management all play a role in retaining water locally.

What will low water levels mean in the coming months?

Stress on aquatic ecosystems will increase

In summer, smaller volumes of water can warm more quickly, while some side arms and shallow habitats may become disconnected from the main channel. The risk of deteriorating water quality may also increase in slower-moving, warmer water. In the Körös region, emergency water-transfer measures were needed in July 2026 because of the low discharge of the Fehér-Körös and Fekete-Körös. At the Békés barrage, 500 litres of water per second were pumped from the downstream side to the upstream side, among other things, to meet ecological water needs and prevent deterioration in water quality.

Agricultural water demand may continue to rise

When the upper soil layer dries out, plants try to draw water from increasing depths. During prolonged precipitation deficits, however, the water content of deeper layers also declines, increasing the need for irrigation. This places additional pressure on water resources precisely when river flows and groundwater recharge are also weak.

Navigation and some water abstractions may become more difficult

During low-flow conditions, the navigable channel may narrow, the permitted draught of vessels may be reduced, and the operation of some ports, ferries or water-intake facilities may need to be modified. These effects first appear as economic and operational problems, before the public drinking water supply is endangered at national level.

What does all this mean for shallow groundwater?

Shallow groundwater is not an underground tank of fixed size. Its reserves can increase during wet periods and decline during prolonged drought and intensive water use. Surface waters and shallow groundwater also interact: in some places the river recharges the groundwater, while elsewhere groundwater provides part of a watercourse's baseflow. Persistently low river levels and declining shallow groundwater levels may therefore indicate mutually reinforcing processes. The yields of shallow dug or drilled wells may fall sooner, and wetlands may begin to dry out before any obvious change occurs in deeper drinking-water aquifers. A decline in shallow groundwater reserves is also an early warning sign. The OVF stresses that estimated groundwater resources are not the same as the volume that can be extracted without restriction: part of these resources is needed to sustain the natural water cycle, vegetation and wetlands.

Are Hungary's drinking water resources at risk?

The current situation does not automatically amount to a nationwide drinking water crisis

Groundwater plays a decisive role in Hungary's drinking water supply. A substantial share of drinking water comes not from near-surface shallow groundwater but from better-protected confined and karst aquifers. These generally respond more slowly to a single dry season than soil moisture, shallow wells or smaller watercourses. Water utilities monitor the quality of mains drinking water according to predetermined schedules, while the public health authority also carries out tests. The NNGYK's public assessment of drinking water quality is based on the national database for 2024; it provides a picture of water quality, but it is not a real-time report on water resources or network capacity.

Low river levels therefore do not, in themselves, make mains water unsafe to drink. Water quantity, the capacity of the supply system and tap-water quality are three separate issues.

Local supply problems may nevertheless arise

The most sensitive situations may develop in smaller systems where the output of the local water source declines at the same time as summer demand surges. In such cases, the country as a whole is not necessarily running out of water; the bottleneck is often the immediate capacity of the specific water source, well, pump, storage facility or distribution network. On 31 July 2026, a Level 1 water restriction was introduced in Dunabogdány because consumption exceeded the capacity of the local water source. The utility commissioned a mobile water abstraction and treatment system to supplement the local source's capacity. This demonstrates how peak-time garden watering, swimming-pool filling and other deferrable uses can already directly threaten continuity of supply at local level.

Bank-filtered water sources must also be protected

Much of Budapest and its metropolitan area is supplied by bank-filtered water sources along the Danube. Budapest Waterworks operates such sources along approximately 80 kilometres of the Danube, providing drinking water to more than two million people. Because of the exceptionally low water levels, riverbed and riverbank areas that are normally submerged became exposed in the summer of 2026. Some of these are water-source protection zones, so unauthorised access and potential contamination may pose a direct risk.

What can be expected in the longer term?

The future will not be determined by a single dry summer. The real risk arises if warm, low-precipitation periods recur in succession while the winter and spring seasons also fail to adequately replenish soil moisture and aquifers. According to HungaroMet measurements, Hungary's mean spring temperature showed an upward trend between 1901 and 2026; based on the linear trend, the national spring average increased by 1.46 degrees Celsius. HungaroMet's digital climate atlas also examines future periods using several regional climate models, including 2041-2070 and 2071-2100. Annual precipitation will continue to vary widely, and wet periods will still occur. A warmer climate, however, increases evaporative demand. Future water security will therefore depend not only on the total amount of precipitation received each year, but also on:

  • when precipitation arrives and how intense it is;

  • how much can infiltrate the soil;

  • how much water is retained in the landscape;

  • how much water is abstracted from surface-water and groundwater resources;

  • how peak agricultural and household demand changes in summer.

What can be done?

The key to long-term water security is not to channel rainfall away as quickly as possible, but to retain as much water as possible during wet periods for use in later dry periods. According to the OVF, retaining both water carried by rivers and water received as precipitation can simultaneously help reduce flood peaks, lower drought risk, supply ecosystems with water and meet agricultural water demand.

Adaptation is needed at several levels:

  • Landscape-scale water retention: providing water to floodplains, side arms, wetlands and low-lying areas.

  • Soil protection: increasing soil organic matter, using cover crops and reducing compaction so that more water can infiltrate.

  • Urban stormwater management: rain gardens, permeable surfaces, stormwater detention basins and the use of rainwater collected from roofs.

  • Water-utility development: reducing network losses and upgrading wells, storage facilities and regional interconnections.

  • More efficient water use: using rainwater rather than drinking water for irrigation, repairing leaks and complying with local restrictions.

  • Water-source protection: protecting wells and recharge areas from contamination, particularly around exposed areas associated with bank-filtered water sources.

Summary: could Hungary run out of drinking water?

The current low water levels on the Danube and Tisza do not mean that the country's piped drinking water supply will run out in the near future. Hungary's supply is largely provided by better-protected aquifers and bank-filtered water sources, and the quality of supplied water is regularly monitored. The situation is nevertheless a serious warning. Local water shortages, pressure drops and consumption restrictions can already occur if the balance between water-source capacity and peak summer demand breaks down. In the longer term, recurring dry periods may adversely affect shallow groundwater, shallow wells and wetlands and, more slowly, deeper aquifers. The question, then, is not simply whether Hungary still has water. The decisive issue is how much water can be retained during wet periods and how responsibly it is used during dry months.

Frequently asked questions about Hungary's water situation

Why is the Danube's water level so low now?

Primarily because a prolonged precipitation deficit has developed across the Danube's entire catchment, so an exceptionally low natural discharge is reaching Hungary. The main reason is not that countries along the river's upper reaches are permanently holding back the water.

What does a negative water-level reading mean?

A negative value means that the water surface is below the locally defined zero point of the relevant gauge. It does not indicate the river's depth and does not mean that the riverbed has completely dried out.

Is tap water currently safe?

Low river levels do not in themselves make tap water unsafe. Mains drinking water is tested regularly. In the event of a local service disruption, water-quality warning or restriction, guidance from the relevant local utility and public health authority should always be followed.

Can a few rainy days solve the problem?

A substantial wet spell may temporarily raise river levels, but it generally does not fully make up for the soil-moisture and shallow-groundwater deficits accumulated over several months. Lasting improvement requires more evenly distributed precipitation across most of the catchments, as well as a longer recharge period.