Vienna, Aug 3 (IANS): The water level at the cooling pond of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, which is vital for the facility's nuclear safety, has continued to decrease over the past weeks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

"If this trend continues, ZNPP staff confirmed that it will soon become challenging to pump water from the pond," the IAEA said on Friday in a statement.

"Maintaining the level of the pond is made more difficult by the hot summer weather."

"The dwindling water levels in the cooling pond remains a potential source of concern," IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said, adding that the agency would continue to closely monitor and observe the situation at the site to ensure a sufficient supply of cooling water for the plant's needs at all times, Xinhua news agency reported.

The IAEA experts stationed at the ZNPP have continued to hear military activity at varying distances from the plant over the past week.

The team also "observed smoke in the distance multiple times in the past week, which the ZNPP reported was caused by fires," the statement said.

All six reactors of the ZNPP remain in a state of cold shutdown, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog.