Look what happened to one of Europe's largest rivers in just a year

Water levels on the Rhine River, Europe's second highest, continue to fall. It's all about the sharp increase

air temperature and lack of precipitation.This delays the departure of many ships. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission photographed part of the Rhine near Cologne. If you compare the two images, you can see the difference between the state of the river in August 2021 and August 2022.

River Rhine in August 2021. Photo: European Space Agency

The Rhine flows from the Swiss Alps to the Northsea ​​and is an important shipping route for products ranging from grain to chemicals to coal. When the water level drops, cargo ships have to sail with a reduced load to avoid running aground.

The water level at the Kaub transshipment point is nearfrom Frankfurt fell to 32 cm on Monday, compared to 42 cm last week. Ships need about 1.5 m to sail fully loaded. Now they are filled to 25-35% of the total capacity of the ship.

River Rhine in August 2022. Photo: European Space Agency

Minimum water levels appear earlier thanusually, with the lowest water levels typically occurring in September or October. However, lower temperatures and projected rainfall forecast this week could refill the waters of the Rhine.

Read more:

Record coronal mass ejection at Betelgeuse is 400 billion times larger than the sun

Megalodon ate an animal the size of a killer whale at a time

Everest found traces of DNA that should not be there