The heat doesn’t let up: rivers are drying up and factories are shutting down in Europe

Prolonged heat and drought continue to dry out Europe. Critically low water levels in the Rhine, Danube and Po rivers have already caused problems with shipping, power plants and industrial plants.

This is reported by the BBC.

The worst situation is now on the Rhine. Near the German city of Kaub, through which one of the most important freight routes in Europe passes, the depth of the shipping channel has dropped to 25 centimeters. The same figure was recorded only in 2018.

Due to the shallowing, barges can no longer take full loads. Carriers have to distribute cargo among a larger number of vessels, which makes logistics more expensive and creates the risk of supply disruptions.

The situation on the Danube is no better. In Serbia and Romania, water levels have fallen to their lowest levels in almost three decades. In Hungary, the country’s only nuclear power plant is operating at reduced capacity due to a lack of cooling water.

The drought has already affected industry. In Romania, authorities have even blown up a large rock on the Danube to increase the flow of water to the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, car factories Dacia and Ford have suspended production for more than two weeks due to water shortages and high loads on the power grid.

Record shallowing has also been recorded on the Po River in Italy. Due to the drought, authorities are warning of possible drinking water shortages, and saltwater from the sea has already begun to enter the riverbed.

According to the European Drought Observatory, the critical situation remains across much of the continent. In Central and Southern European countries, temperatures will exceed 40 degrees in the coming days.

Scientists at World Weather Attribution explain that climate change is increasing air temperatures, causing moisture to evaporate faster and making prolonged droughts more frequent.

Let us remind you that by the end of the 21st century, life on Earth could radically change due to global warming , large-scale forest fires, the decline of traditional livestock farming, and the development of genetic technologies. This forecast was published by scientists who studied the possible consequences of an increase in the average temperature on the planet.