THE RHINE KEEPS DRYING UP

BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 25 /SRNA/ – The Rhine River, one of Germany's key trade routes, keeps drying up even though summer has ended.

The latest data show that the measuring station in Kaub, near the city of Koblenz, recorded a water depth of just two centimeters yesterday, the lowest value ever recorded since measurements began in 1856.

By this morning, the water level had recovered slightly, reaching five centimeters, Deutsche Welle reports.

It is important to note that these figures show the water depth only at the location of the measuring device, which is situated relatively close to the riverbank. The actual navigable depth at Kaub is approximately 113 centimeters greater than the reading at the measuring station.

Nevertheless, German shipping associations use the measurement from the station as a reference point. The German Inland Waterways Shipping Association /BDB/ previously stated that the Rhine would no longer be fully navigable if the reading at the measuring station fell into the single digits.

Any interruption to commercial traffic on the Rhine carries major economic risks for Germany.

Many companies use the river as a waterway connecting them to major ports on the North Sea. In 2023, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy calculated that German industrial production declines by approximately one percent for every 30 days of low Rhine water levels.