The water level of the Danube River in Hungary’s capital Budapest has dropped to a historic low, disrupting river transportation and negatively affecting tourism in the city.

According to Gabriella Siklós, spokesperson for Hungary’s Water Management Directorate, the water gauge in Budapest recorded the lowest level ever measured.

“The data from the Budapest water level monitoring station shows that the level is only 1 centimeter above the traditional zero point,” Siklós said, according to Hungary’s state news agency MTI.

The measurement does not mean that the actual depth of the Danube is 1 centimeter. Water level gauges measure the height of the river surface compared with a fixed reference point. The actual depth of the river in Budapest is currently estimated at around 3 to 3.5 meters, which is insufficient for large vessels.

Authorities said the decline is linked to extreme heat and drought conditions that affected Central Europe during the summer. According to Hungary’s meteorological service HungaroMet, August 2026 was among the hottest and driest months recorded in the country during more than a century of regular weather observations.

The sharp fall in water levels has severely affected river traffic. Cargo barges and passenger ships operating as floating hotels have disappeared from the Budapest section of the river, while hydrofoil services remain suspended. Only smaller boats are currently able to operate within the city.

Tour boats heading north toward the scenic Danube Bend, including the areas around Esztergom and Visegrád, have been canceled. Ships traveling downstream from Austria and Slovakia have also been stopped near Győr in northwestern Hungary, with tourists transferred to Budapest by bus.

The retreating waters have visibly changed Budapest’s riverbanks, exposing stone embankments near bridges and the tip of Margaret Island. Access paths leading from the embankments to floating docks have become sharply tilted due to the falling water level.

The low water has also revealed objects hidden beneath the river for decades. Explosive disposal teams recovered a shell from the riverbed, as well as a German motorcycle believed to date back to World War II.

The Water Management Directorate expects the situation to improve slightly in the coming days, with weather forecasts predicting rainfall that could help raise the Danube’s water level.(ILKHA)