The heat in Germany is massively affecting the rivers and lakes this year. The water levels are falling rapidly and even lower than usual. On the Rhine in Emmerich, the water level is now falling to a new low – and is expected to fall even further.
Due to the persistent drought, the Rhine level in Emmerich has reached a new low just before the Dutch border. In the morning, only four centimeters were measured, the waterways and shipping administration announced on its Elwis portal. The previous historical low was seven centimeters at the end of October 2018.
The authority expects the water levels to fall further in the coming days. On Tuesday afternoon, a level of zero should even be reached in Emmerich. The water level is not to be confused with the fairway. In Emmerich, 1.80 meters are kept free for commercial shipping. A Rhine ferry near Rees was discontinued because of the low water, as the ferry company announced.
The Rhine level near Cologne was 76 centimeters in the morning – seven centimeters above the previous low of 69 centimeters. 34 centimeters were measured in Düsseldorf. The lowest value measured so far is 23 centimetres. “As long as it doesn’t rain, things will continue to go downhill,” a spokesman for the Rhine Water and Shipping Authority told dpa on Sunday.
The Rhine ferry in Nierstein temporarily ceased operations in the morning due to extremely low water. The company in the Mainz-Bingen district said it was uncertain when the ferry could drive again. Motorists now have to put up with considerable detours to get to the other side of the Rhine. In the south it is more than 20 kilometers to the Rhine ferry, which is still running between the Eich and Gernsheim communities, and to the north it is around 13 kilometers to the Weisenau motorway bridge over the Rhine.
It is unusual that low levels are reached so early in the year. The authorities do not expect the water levels to ease slightly until the middle of the new week.
