The ongoing drought is lowering the water level of German rivers and the Rhine in Emmerich has dropped to a historic level of four centimeters, according to the national administration for waterways and maritime transport.
The previous record of seven centimeters in that place, opposite the German border with the Netherlands, was recorded at the end of October 2018.
The water level, of course, is not the same as the depth of the waterway along the river, which is now 180 centimeters in Emmerich. By the way, the Rhine is an important artery of European river transport.
At the same time, further withdrawal of the water level is expected on Tuesday afternoon, at the measuring point the river may dry up. A few kilometers upstream, at Ress, the town ferry had to stop due to insufficient water depth.
On Monday morning, the Rhine in Cologne was at 76 cm, seven centimeters above the record, and in Dusseldorf at 34 cm, 11 above the record low.
“The water will recede until it rains,” a spokesman for the Rhineland Administration for Watercourses and Marine Affairs said on Sunday.
It is unusual for the water level to drop so low so early. Experts expect rain and storms next week to raise river water levels.