BUDAPEST, July 1 (Xinhua) -- As the morning sun blazed over Lake Velence, southwest of Budapest, 28-year-old marketing manager Andras Stein completed a bicycle circuit of Hungary's second-largest natural lake.
"I usually come here to admire the water and the swans," he said, looking at long stretches of exposed lakebed. "But now, there's grey mud. It smells."
Weeks of scorching temperatures and years of dry weather have pushed the shallow lake's water level down to just 47 centimeters, the lowest level ever recorded.
Missing an estimated 20 million cubic meters of water, Lake Velence has become the clearest symbol of Hungary's changing climate.
On Tuesday, temperatures climbed to 42 degrees Celsius, breaking the country's all-time heat record as a persistent heat dome settled over Central Europe.
According to the National Directorate General for Water Management (OVF), Hungary has accumulated a 462-millimeter precipitation deficit over the past five years. Groundwater levels across the Great Hungarian Plain have fallen one to two meters below the 30-year average.
The drought is exposing the limits of a water management system historically designed to drain excess floodwater rather than retain it for dry summers.
The agricultural toll has been severe. Gyongyver, a young mother who runs a livestock farm 20 km west of Budapest, saw her fodder production collapse. "Normally I harvest 20 to 25 hay bales from my rented field," she said. "This year I got only eight." Erratic downpours also ruined the quality of the hay, forcing her to buy expensive feed.
Water scarcity is also emerging as a strategic economic challenge.
Authorities are closely monitoring the Danube River, which provides cooling water for the Paks nuclear power plant. As river temperatures approached environmental limits, Economy and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany temporarily exempted the plant from mandatory output reductions to ensure electricity supplies, while deploying aeration equipment to protect fish.
Public utilities are also under exceptional pressure. During the heatwave, drinking water consumption surged by 55 percent in some areas, forcing restrictions in about 120 municipalities.
Prime Minister Peter Magyar appealed to citizens to postpone non-essential water use, such as filling swimming pools and watering lawns. Minister of Living Environment Laszlo Gajdos added that while safe tap water is available to 95 percent of Hungarians, the distribution network cannot cope with extraordinary spikes in outdoor water use.
The government has made water security a top priority. It established a National Water Coordination Center and announced 257 billion forints (823 million U.S. dollars) in water infrastructure investments, including the reconstruction of the Patka and Zamoly reservoirs to replenish Lake Velence. The strategy marks a shift from draining water to retaining every drop in reservoirs, canals and floodplains before summer.
Since mid-May, the center has directed nearly 8 million cubic meters of water to sensitive wetlands, retaining 632 million cubic meters nationwide.
