According to AFP, the German Waterway and Maritime Administration (WSV) on July 31 (local time) said that the water level in a section of the Rhine River near the town of Kaub - an important waterway for commercial transport - at one point dropped to a record low recorded in 2018.
Germany recorded high summer temperatures along with low rainfall. Concerns are rising in the country's industry and waterway transport as rainfall shortages seriously affect some vital waterways.
Although the water level here later rose slightly, WSV on August 1st forecast that the water level measured in Dusseldorf city could drop to 21cm, 2cm lower than the bottom level in October 2018.
Not only Germany, Dutch officials said on July 31 that the increasingly severe drought has caused the water level of the Rhine River - the section bordering Germany - to fall to its lowest ever recorded level.
The low Rhine River water level could have a significant impact on some German industries such as chemicals and steel - which are industries heavily dependent on this waterway route for transporting large volumes of goods.
The German Federation of Construction warns that the Rhine River is increasingly being pushed to the limit of exploitation capacity due to the continuous recurrence of low water levels. At the same time, it believes that this reflects the problem that Germany's transportation and logistics systems are easily affected by climate change.
The organization called on the government to urgently upgrade waterways towards modernization to increase better resilience.
The Rhine River is the 2nd longest river in Western and Central Europe, only after the Danube River. There are 9 countries dependent on the river to serve domestic water needs, hydropower production and transportation activities.
