STORY: :: The water level of Hungary's tourist hotspot Lake Velence is expected to drop to record lows this summer

:: June 9, 2026

:: Tibor Horanyi, Association of Great Lakes

"We are seeing the results of bad water management, such as the water channelling from our lands, the drying out of the soils, as well as climate change. The extreme heat of recent years shows that while such events have occurred before from a historical perspective, we can say that the gap is narrowing. Since 2021, every year we have had drought levels of historical lows. This is a complex problem."

:: Experts say the lake could drop to as low as 30cm without rain and threaten wildlife habitats 

The water level of Hungary's third-largest lake is expected to drop to new lows this summer due to climate change and decades of water mismanagement, threatening its ecosystem and tourism industry, experts and locals said.

Lake Velence, just 25 miles west of Budapest, is a popular holiday destination but its water level could soon be too low for the sailing and swimming it is so famous for, experts said.

On a recent warm day, children played on newly exposed sandbanks which reach far beyond the lake's usual shoreline, while rental boats were moored at a jetty now high and dry, leaving them resting on the sand.

The lake's water level measured 56 cm on Wednesday at the town of Agard, according to data from the National Directorate General for Water Management, just 3 cm above an historic low of 53 cm recorded in 2022 - the last year Hungary was hit by an extreme drought. In the early months of 2026, the water level hovered around 80 cm.

Without substantial rainfall, the water level could decline by half a centimeter daily, reaching as low as 30 cm by summer's end, experts warned.