Europe has been living through a long and hot summer, causing some of the major rivers on the continent to drop to significantly low levels. One river that has dropped significantly, posing problems for the people and businesses that rely on it, is the Rhine river in Germany. Several ferry services have been forced to stop running around the town of Kaub.
The town used to have a lot of floods in the summer, but now the water levels have been getting lower. At 42 cm, the water level hasn’t fallen to the lowest level recorded, which was in October 2018, however the water level is expected to fall more in the coming days. The industries in Germany rely on barges that follow the Rhine river, the river is one of Europe’s working rivers. The Upper Rhine may be closed to traffic completely if levels continue to fall. The falling water levels could significantly harm Germany’s economy.
Read more: Drought hits Germany’s Rhine River: ‘We have 30cm of water left’