Europe heat wave fuels drought, fires and energy fears

A man walks on a sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, which emerged during the drought in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River between Romania and Serbia near Prahovo on Aug. 4, 2026.

Europe’s heat wave exposes buried history and new threats — Nazi-era wrecks emerge from the Danube, nuclear reactors face cooling risks, and Greece battles deadly wildfires.

(Image credit: Darko Vojinovic)