匈牙利维伦采湖因持续高温和缺雨陷入严重危机，水位已降至29厘米的历史新低[1]。这一数字远低于2022年9月的前次历史低位53厘米[1]。自1933年以来记录的水位数据显示，湖水平均每天下降0.5厘米[1]。气温已达到40摄氏度以上，未来数日预计继续保持高温[1]。
干旱引发了一系列连锁后果。五个游泳点自7月23日起已关闭[1]。位于布达佩斯下游约100公里的帕克斯核电站因无法用多瑙河水进行冷却，本周即将首次关闭[1]；该电站电力输出覆盖匈牙利约一半的电力消费[1]。
政府在2021年至2024年间投资约1.4亿欧元建设的独木舟中心目前已闲置[1]。原定于8月在此举办的世界大学独木舟锦标赛因水位过低已改在塞格德举行[1]。匈牙利总理彼得·马杰尔表示"我们面临超乎我们控制范围的危机"[1]，并指出未来五天为2026年夏季最关键时期[1]。
Lake Velence in Hungary has reached a historic low water level of 29 centimeters as of August 4, 2026, down from 53 centimeters in September 2022, driven by prolonged high temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and insufficient rainfall.[1] The lake's water depth has been declining at an average rate of 0.5 centimeters per day since measurements began in 1933.[1] Five swimming facilities around the lake were forced to close on July 23 due to the severe drought conditions.[1]
The drying of Lake Velence has triggered cascading consequences across Hungary's energy and tourism sectors. A newly constructed canoe center, which cost approximately 1.4 billion euros in government funds and was completed between 2021 and 2024, now sits idle after the World University Canoe Championships were relocated to Szeged due to insufficient water levels.[1] The Paks Nuclear Power Station, located roughly 100 kilometers downstream from Budapest on the Danube River, is unable to draw adequate cooling water from the river and is facing its first shutdown this week; the facility normally supplies approximately half of Hungary's electricity consumption.[1]
Prime Minister Peter Magyar characterized the situation as a "crisis that lies beyond our control," warning that the coming five days represent the most critical period of the summer of 2026.[1] Experts have attributed the lake's vulnerability partly to long-term mismanagement of water resources, even as the warning signs emerged years earlier.[1]