Prolonged drought and successive heatwaves across Central and Eastern Europe have driven the Danube to record low levels in Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria as of early August 2026, disrupting navigation, tourism, hydropower, and cooling for nuclear facilities. Trader consensus positions September and October as the leading windows for a return to normal, consistent with seasonal shifts toward cooler temperatures and higher autumn rainfall that historically ease summer low-flow conditions. Recent satellite data and gauge readings confirm the severity, with Budapest levels dropping below prior records amid ongoing triple-digit heat, though no immediate forecasts indicate rapid rebound before mid-September. Uncertainties around precipitation patterns and multi-year dry trends keep later resolution or non-recovery by November as lower-probability outcomes.