Hungary has halted the decorative lighting of Budapest’s Parliament building, Buda Castle, and the Chain Bridge to conserve energy during a new heatwave and an energy crisis triggered by low water levels in the Danube River, according to reports.
International news outlets note that municipalities, factories, and some churches in Romania have also reduced their lighting, halted production, and rationed electricity usage as authorities work to keep the Cernavodă nuclear reactor number 2 operational.
Similar to Romania, the prolonged heatwave and record-low Danube water levels have largely forced Hungary to suspend its only nuclear power plant that relies on river water for cooling.
On Thursday, temperatures in Hungary soared between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius, significantly above the typical average for August.
Tourists Express Disappointment Over Budapest’s Decision
“I’m very disappointed as I probably will come to Budapest only once in my life. Yesterday, I climbed the hill and was waiting to see the building lit up,” said Silke Schneiders, a tourist from Germany, in a statement to reporters. “I was also planning to take a night cruise on the river, and all the lights and the bridge were shrouded in darkness,” she lamented.
However, many Hungarians have voiced their support for the decision, indicating they too have cut back on energy consumption following a call from Prime Minister Peter Magyar to lessen the strain on the power grid.
“It’s obviously unpleasant, but I can appreciate and be thankful for what I have here,” said tourist Benjamin Thomas Tucker.
György Kriska, an associate professor at Eötvös Loránd University, identified an unusual beneficiary of the measure: mayflies in Budapest, a protected species that appears in huge swarms during the summer.
“Light pollution is dangerous for mayflies as they are attracted to lamps and lights along the riverbank. Turning off the lights is the best way to protect them,” Kriska noted.
Hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions, of mayflies emerge from the water and engage in a frantic race to reproduce before dying just hours after they hatch.
