Germany’s spring showers haven’t materialized this year, and that’s drying out the country’s most important river, prompting concerns that key industrial goods might have trouble making it to their destination. Typically one of the wettest months, Europe’s biggest economy has received just 5% of its normal April rainfall so far, according to Germany’s federal weather service. It’s on course to be the driest month since records began in 1881.
In addition to yellowing vegetation that’s usually a lush green in this season, the dry spell has depressed water levels on the Rhine River, a conduit for barges delivering everything from steel to oil and coal to Germany’s factories. The river is now at its lowest level for April since 2011. “If we don’t get more normal rain in May, then we’re looking at another year of serious drought conditions,” said Andreas Friedrich of Germany’s DWD federal weather service.
With its source high in the Swiss Alps, the Rhine snakes more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) and carries cargo barges through some of Europe’s most important industrial zones before greeting the North Sea at Rotterdam. A mix of glacial run-off and rain feeds the river, but contribution from glaciers has dwindled in recent years as summer melting out paces ice formation in winter.
October 2018 saw rivers fall to just a few centimeters at a chokepoint near the village of Kaub, disrupting flows of fuels and goods to and from Germany’s advanced manufacturing heartlands in the south. The impasse was severe enough to dent German economic growth and underline how even advanced economies are feeling the impact of climate change.
Germany’s transport ministry last year announced plans aimed at ensuring the Rhine stays navigable for industrial ships even as waters continue to fall year by year. The scheme includes new early warning systems and dredging of some of the shallowest parts of the river.