Danube hits record low, exposing WWII warships and halting fuel shipments across Romania, Serbia and Croatia

Water vanishes across three countries

The Danube fell to record lows in Serbia, Croatia and Romania during the week ending 25 July 2026, following prolonged heatwaves and severe drought that have hit waterways across Europe. At Novi Sad in northern Serbia, dozens of pleasure boats were left floating in green sludge after the water retreated several hundred metres from the bank. In the southern Romanian town of Corabia, aerial images captured on Friday 24 July showed scores of vessels stranded by the receding river. The Serbian hydrometeorological service reported on Thursday 16 July that the Danube had posted its lowest discharge in three decades.

Wrecks resurface after eight decades

The falling water pulled history to the surface. In eastern Serbia, rusted hulks of a German river flotilla scuttled in 1944 during the Nazi retreat from the Red Army emerged from the Danube, creating a hazard for navigation. Further downstream in Croatia, a cargo ship that sank in 1937 and normally lies submerged became visible again. The wrecks are a direct consequence of sandbanks extending over hundreds of square kilometres that would usually be underwater.

“Due to the lack of precipitation and the increase in temperatures as a result of climate change, we have more evaporation and we are recording extremely low water levels.”

Shipping squeezed to a trickle

Commercial traffic is bearing the heaviest economic cost. Serbia's Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said the country's fuel imports had reached only 25% of the level planned for July because barges and tankers can carry just 30-40% of their normal load. Vessels that did sail were forced to anchor in the deepest remaining channels while the water around them disappeared.

“Fuel imports have fallen to only a quarter of the monthly target because ships can transport only 30 to 40 percent of their usual cargo.”

Fisheries, tourism and wildlife hit

Beyond freight, the low levels on the Danube, Tisa and Sava rivers are disrupting fishing and tourism. Experts quoted by Reuters warned of long-term consequences for ecosystems and wildlife. In Belgrade, a restaurant owner placed a table and chairs on a pile of rocks that appeared in the middle of the Sava, a stretch normally deep underwater. Vladimir Stakic, editor of Serbia's Angling Magazine, said climate change was the driver, pointing to the same dry rocks on which he stood to deliver his comments.

Short-term forecast offers little relief

Serbia's hydrometeorological service expects only a slight rise in the Danube's level in the coming days, helped by rainfall upstream. The increase will not eliminate the problems caused by the severe drought, leaving navigation, fuel supply chains and exposed wartime ordnance as live concerns across the three countries.