9 September 2022 – Darina Kalamova
This year another negative climate-related record in Europe will likely be broken as the ongoing drought is set to become the worst one in the last 500 years.
The combination of low rainfall and extremely high summer temperatures is overheating and drying up rivers and lakes across Europe. Water shortages are already hindering the continent’s activity because the river basins provide important economic routes and ecosystems. Without them, international trade, industrial activity, agriculture, energy and food production are in danger of collapse.
The Rhine is Europe’s largest and most important river and its water is used for freight transport, irrigation, manufacturing, power generation and drinking. Since early August 2022, the river has been recording alarmingly low levels and is in danger of becoming impassable. This will halt the transport of grain, coal, and other goods with catastrophic economic consequences. Ships are already being forced to limit their cargo and if the water level continues to drop, they may have to stop operating altogether.
Economic activity in the Danube is disrupted as well. Wrecks of World War II ships have resurfaced from the water and while this is not the first time this has occurred, the wrecks emerge only when the water level is extremely low. The rise of water temperature also poses a serious threat to the river as the overheating can result in lower oxygen content and not enough soil moisture. Concerns for the survival of the local fish species have been raised.
Other important European waterways are facing similar threats and experts warn that the expected rainfall this autumn may not be enough to raise water levels high enough to restore normal activity and that similar dry periods may no longer be exceptions in the future, but the rule.
