climate
Extreme drought: record lows on the Rhine possible
After weeks of drought, the water levels in the Rhine have in some cases reached historic lows. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
After months with far too little rain, the Rhine is running out of water in places. A new low has already been reached at Emmerich. Upstream, the previous negative records are also shaky.
After months without sufficient rainfall, further record low water levels could be measured on the Rhine. In Emmerich, where only two centimeters were displayed on Monday afternoon, a water level of zero and later even negative readings would soon be possible, the waterways and shipping administration announced on its “Elwis” portal. The previous low was seven centimeters at the end of October 2018.
The water levels are not to be confused with the lowest point in the river. The fairways for commercial shipping are significantly deeper than the water level according to the gauge. This only shows the difference between the water surface and the so-called zero level, which is not at the deepest point of the river bed.
The pointer at the Emmerich level house showed zero or even a little less on Monday afternoon because the small amounts of water on the large level indicator are only displayed with inaccuracies, said Martin Wolters from the Waterways and Shipping Office. The Rhine ferry at Rees was discontinued because of the low water, as the ferry company announced.
New lows are also possible in Duisburg and Cologne
Upstream, previous negative records are also shaky, mostly from the extremely low water in October 2018: In Duisburg, the previous low of 153 centimeters could already be undercut on Tuesday morning, the authority said. At the Cologne level, the previous low of 69 centimeters may be set on Thursday evening.
“As long as it doesn’t rain, things will continue to go downhill,” a spokesman for the agency told dpa on Sunday. According to the DWD, it should hardly rain on Tuesday. The meteorologists only expect showery rain on Wednesday and Thursday night, and longer-lasting rain during the day on Thursday.