Romania’s sole nuclear power plant has moved to the brink of a complete shutdown after record-low water levels on the Danube forced one reactor offline and now threaten the second. It was the second such shutdown in the plant’s history, the first having come 23 years earlier. The plant uses Danube water for cooling, making it particularly vulnerable to prolonged dry spells. Neighbouring Hungary has faced similar constraints at its Paks nuclear plant, where low Danube levels have forced a complete shutdown, the first in its 44 years of service. Nuclearelectrica has stressed that the measures are preventive and aimed at protecting nuclear safety and equipment.