Nazi-era shipwrecks emerge from Serbia's Danube River as European drought deepens

Dozens of Nazi German shipwrecks have emerged from the Danube River near the Serbian village of Prahovo as drought, extreme heat and unusually low water levels grip much of Europe.

The vessels, part of Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet, were reportedly sunk in 1944 during the German retreat before the advancing Soviet army and have remained hidden beneath the river for decades.

The discovery highlights the far-reaching effects of this summer's drought across Europe, where receding rivers are exposing long-submerged relics while disrupting shipping, energy production and local communities.

Some of the vessels reportedly still contain ammunition and explosives, prompting cleanup efforts to remove potentially dangerous artifacts.

Locals were seen swimming near the exposed wrecks to escape temperatures that reached 36 degrees Celsius (almost 97 degrees Fahrenheit) in Serbia. As water levels dropped, larger sections of the vessels, including hulls and command structures, became visible.

Reuters reported that some of the Nazi German vessels reportedly still contain ammunition and explosives. Authorities are consequently working to remove potentially hazardous artifacts that could pose a risk to nearby communities.

The Danube, one of Europe's most important waterways, spans 1,770 miles. It flows from Germany's Black Forest through Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania before emptying into the Black Sea.

The European Investment Bank has assessed that the newly exposed wrecks are among roughly 200 sunken vessels lying on the riverbed. Increased rainfall later in the summer could once again submerge many of them.

Authorities are also expressing growing concern about the Danube's historically low water levels. Hungary's national water authority recently measured the river at just 9 inches in Budapest, 4 inches below the previous record low of 13 inches set in 2013.

The unusually low water level is disrupting commercial shipping and affecting energy production.

The heatwave and drought have reportedly forced Hungary to temporarily shut down a nuclear power plant that produces nearly 50% of the country's electricity because water from the Danube is normally used to cool the facility.

Authorities have warned the closure could remain in place for several weeks.

“For the first time in 44 years, the entire Paks Nuclear Power Plant will be completely shut down due to the record-low water level of the Danube. An energy crisis situation may arise from Monday,” Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar wrote in a post on 𝕏.

Scientists have warned that increasingly severe heatwaves and droughts could become more common unless countries reduce their reliance on coal, oil and natural gas.

“The heat dries the soil, empties the rivers and drives up demand for water all at once. That is the fingerprint of a changing climate,” warned Hannah Cloke, Regius professor of meteorology and climate science at the University of Reading, in the UK.

“Summers like this are becoming part of the ordinary range, and they will keep getting worse as long as we burn fossil fuels,” she continued. “That is the plain physics of it."