The Rhine, a Lifeline of Germany, Is Crippled by Drought

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

The Rhine, a Lifeline of Germany, Is Crippled by Drought

By Christopher F. Schuetze
Nov. 4, 2018

KAUB, Germany — Just after sunrise, Capt. Frank Sep turned to his ship’s radio for the defining news of his day: the water level in Kaub, the shallowest part of the middle section of the Rhine, Germany’s most important shipping route.

The news was bad, as it so often is these days.

One of the longest dry spells on record has left parts of the Rhine at record-low levels for months, forcing freighters to reduce their cargo or stop plying the river altogether.

Parts of the Danube and the Elbe — Germany’s other major rivers for transport — are also drying up. Some inland ports are idle, and it is estimated that millions of tons of goods are having to be transported by rail or road.

-snip-

The Rhine’s flow relies not just on annual rainfall, but also on enormous long-term reserves of water in the Alps. Melting snow and glaciers, as well as Lake Constance, feed the upper parts of the river, but with climate change, those reserves are lower, Dr. Koch said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/world/europe/rhine-drought-water-level.html

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Wow.

"And the wreck of De Hoop, a Dutch freighter that sank after an explosion in 1895 and is normally submerged, now lies exposed on the Rhine’s banks."

The cruise industry, no doubt will also be adversely affected, as will many other things we haven't even thought about.

I'm sure that as the effects of climate change keep rolling in, many will be surprised by the broad and pervasive effects on commerce, not to mention quality of life changes.

Thanks for sharing this, Eugene. It was an interesting read.

♡ lmsp

[spinbaby]

2. I sailed the Rhine this summer

I was on a river cruise—Basel to Amsterdam. It was obvious that the river was very low. Our ship had only 20 cm clearance at one point according to the captain. The Viking ships didn’t make it and the passengers had to be bussed. We were told the Danube was entirely closed to riverboat travel.