The water level of the largest European river, the Danube, at the Slovak capital Bratislava has fallen to the lowest level since measurement began in 1900.

The average daily water flow at the Devín section of the river just outside Bratislava reached 575.9 cubic metres per second on October 5, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) reported on October 6.

“The Danube, one of the most significant European rivers, rewrites more than hundred years of its history,” SHMÚ stated, adding that the previous “historic minimum from January 1900” was deepened by “another 4.1m3/s".

This summer, Slovakia was coping with a severe drought, which also hit other countries in the region. SHMÚ noted that June, July and August this year “were assessed as below normal to dry months”, and that average water flow reached “only about 36% of the long term monthly values”.  September was assessed as significantly below normal.

Slovakia also reported very low water levels in other major rivers as well as water reservoirs. The summer of 2026 was the third hottest since 1931 and the sixth driest since 1881, Czech online news outlet Novinky.cz noted.