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How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing

2026-08-06 18:10:18Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ASTRID BENöLKEN
How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing
The drought is also threatening the closure of the most important power plant in Hungary.

Hungary's third-largest lake is in danger of drying up completely due to drought and the current heat wave. On the other side of the country, too, the drop in water levels could lead to the closure of a major power plant.

A dead fish lies half-rotted on the shore. A fly hovers over its scales, its eyes already gouged out by birds. Its carcass could be the first warning of a mass fish die-off. Environmental experts warn that the oxygen level in Lake Velence is too low. Soon more and more fish could drown.

Temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius and an almost complete lack of precipitation have left deep marks on Hungary's third largest natural lake. The lake has never been very deep, but the current situation is dramatic. The water level in Agard, on the southern shore of Lake Velence, has been measured since 1933. Until now, the lowest historical level was 53 centimeters, recorded in September 2022.

How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing
Fish carcass on lake shore could be first warning of mass fish die-off

The water level is currently only 29 centimeters. If it does not rain and temperatures remain this high, the lake level will continue to fall every day by an average of half to one centimeter. The water is evaporating at such a rapid rate that very soon there may no longer be a continuous surface of water, but only isolated islands of water. This could mark a critical point for the lake's existence.

The reed belt surrounding the lake, habitat for many bird species, is now located mostly on dry land.

However, not all organisms in the lake are suffering from the current conditions. A constant humming sound can be heard near the waterline. As habitat for fish and aquatic plants shrinks, flies, bacteria and other decomposers are breaking down what the drought is leaving behind.

How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing

Stop signs instead of rest stops

The lack of water is changing not just the lake, but an entire region. Lake Velence is a popular tourist destination, just 50 kilometers from Budapest, and is considered less crowded than Lake Balaton. But where tourists once flocked, emptiness now reigns.

The remaining water has turned a brown-green color and has a faint smell of decay. A sign in red letters warns: “Bathing prohibited.” The entrance to the lake is blocked with yellow safety tape. Since July 23, bathing has been prohibited at five beaches.

The municipal administration of Venice warns that the beaches will only reopen when the water quality improves. When that will happen remains unclear. High temperatures and low water levels are increasingly warming the lake, encouraging the proliferation of bacteria and blue-green algae.

How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing
The lake has receded by tens of meters. Where waves usually crash onto the shore, the land is so dry it's cracked.

Disaster for tourism

For residents who make a living from tourism in one of Hungary's most popular recreational areas, the current water level is a disaster. Only one family has come to the northern beach, not to swim, but to sunbathe. A water slide is rusting and abandoned; it no longer reaches the water, but ends up among the reeds.

Only one kiosk is still open. A woman sells langoustines, ice cream and lemonade. She says the slide has not been used for years and needs renovation. “But with what money?” she asks, “when fewer and fewer paying tourists are coming?”

Campsites and holiday home complexes around the lake look deserted, while many shops are closed. At an ice cream parlor near the Venice promenade, Peggy Barath sells ice cream to passersby. “We’ve always had a lot of tourists here,” she says. But in recent years, their numbers have steadily declined due to the poor water situation.

However, Peggy is hopeful that the situation will improve. She says the ice rink now relies mainly on tourists travelling by bike, who come even when the water level is low.

There is no long-term solution yet.

Deep interventions in the region's water balance have made the lake more sensitive to dry spells. "The lakeshore has been subjected to major construction over the past 15 years," says Zoltan Kun, president of the Hungarian Great Lakes and Wetlands Association.

According to him, water management authorities have focused on quickly removing excess water from the region, rather than conserving it through natural solutions. Agriculture has also damaged the soil, reducing its ability to hold water.

This is not the first time that Lake Velence has dried up. In the early 1990s, when it was in danger of disappearing, it was refilled with water from other sources. This was expensive and complicated. Experts are now looking for more sustainable solutions, as climate change is expected to bring even more frequent periods of drought.

One proposal is to rehabilitate the Zamolyi and Patkai reservoirs, so that water can be stored there during periods of rainfall and then released into the lake during droughts. However, little has been done so far. In 2021, the then government of Viktor Orban rejected a large-scale investment program for the lake, arguing that it was too expensive.

A new canoe center without water

Although it has long been known that the water level in Lake Velence reaches critical levels during summer and autumn, Orbán's government built a modern canoeing center on the northern shore from 2021 to 2024, where international competitions were also planned.

The project cost around 140 million euros in state funds. In front of the new spectator tower, the racing lanes are marked with buoys, but otherwise, activity is minimal. The floating platforms lie deep in the green-brown water.

The World University Canoe Championships, which were due to take place here in August, were moved to Szeged, in southern Hungary, due to very low water levels. For now, the complex remains simply a very expensive training center.

How Hungary's third largest lake is disappearing
The slide has not been used for years and needs renovation.

Nuclear power plant nearing closure

The current heat wave has hit all of Hungary. The level of the Danube has dropped significantly. Near Margaret Island in Budapest, the river has receded so much that large parts of its bed have come to the surface.

Tourists and locals take pictures of a sandbar that has formed near the island. Metal collectors use magnets to remove rusty debris that the low water has exposed.

But the low water level has serious consequences. Apart from a few tourist boats, river traffic has been almost completely suspended. The Paks nuclear power plant, about 100 kilometers south of Budapest, can no longer be cooled with water from the Danube.

The capacity of the plant, which usually covers about half of Hungary's electricity consumption, has been gradually reduced in recent days and risks complete shutdown this week, for the first time in history.

"We are all in a crisis beyond our control, which is testing us," Prime Minister Peter Magyar declared at a press conference on August 3, 2026. According to him, Hungary is facing the five most critical days of the summer of 2026.

Magyar has urged citizens to save energy. Many companies have declared their willingness to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption. Lighting in public buildings and bridges has been reduced at night, while rail freight transport has been suspended daily from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

However, the problem is far from solved. Not only Lake Velence and the Danube, but also Hungary's energy supply remain under pressure. Temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days./ DW

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