SHMÚ: the Danube at Devín records its lowest mean daily discharge since measurements began in 1900 — 575.9 m³/s on 5 October 2026, 4.1 m³/s below the previous minimum from January 1909
On 6 October 2026 the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) reported that, according to operational data, the mean daily discharge of the Danube at the Devín – Bratislava gauging station fell to 575.9 m³/s on 5 October. The previous minimum of 580 m³/s, from January 1909, had stood for 117 years.
- June, July and August 2026 had already been assessed as markedly below-normal to dry months: mean monthly discharges at the Danube stations reached only about 36% of the long-term monthly values. September was markedly below normal at all stations — at Devín the mean discharge was 43% of the long-term value, and as of 6 October the mean monthly discharge stood at 41%.
- SHMÚ recorded the first summer minimum mean daily discharges below the threshold of extreme hydrological drought (set from long-term values of a representative period) in the first half of July; the threshold was crossed again in July, and further, lower minima followed in mid-August, in the first ten days of September and in early October, approaching the lowest values of the whole observation period.
- In an analysis of 12 October SHMÚ reported that from January to September 2026 less than 200 mm of precipitation fell in the driest parts of Slovakia (Hurbanovo 175 mm), and many meteorological stations recorded less than half the usual amount for the period. To reach the long-term mean annual total, 395 mm would have to fall in Hurbanovo in October–December.
- Severe to extreme soil drought (categories S3–S5) lasted 60–100 days in places in the northern half of the country in spring, and longest in the west and east in summer; on the Danubian and East Slovak Lowlands category S5 alone persisted for 80–100 days, and in several places in eastern Slovakia severe to extreme drought lasted more than 150 of the 273 days from January to the end of September. The discharge value for 5 October is operational data.