Europe’s great drought

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the pandemic-snarled water, Europe is having another cataclysmic summer. This time, it's not pandemic red tape, but what looks set to be the continent's worst drought in history. Around 63% of the land across the EU and UK had either drought warnings or alerts, according to the EU's European Drought Observatory last week -- and that figure was issued before the UK declared a drought in eight out of 14 areas. New alerts are pouring in every day.

While the landscape is tinder-dry, water levels are plummeting. Rivers and lakes are drying up -- and as well that has devastating effects on trade and industry, it's also hitting a sector that was already on its knees thanks to the pandemic: tourism. Worse, experts say that this is a worrying sign of things to come.

Legendary rivers have been reduced to shallow streams, hitting power generation. After the record-breaking summer heat, 2022 may be the worst drought year in Europe in 500 years. China and the US are facing drought as well.

The 766-mile Rhine is one of Europe's most important trade routes, with container ships plying their way around its looping bends.

It's also a classic cruise itinerary. But now some of those waterway dreams seem set to run aground.

On Saturday, the water level at the German town of Kaub -- a critical juncture -- slipped to just 36 cm, or 14 inches, according to official figures. That's devastatingly low -- at 40 cm, commercial shipping becomes unprofitable.

None of this is news, says Clare Weeden, principal lecturer in tourism and marketing at the University of Brighton.

European media has been full of dramatic pictures of drying, exposed riverbeds. Some of Europe’s biggest rivers — Rhine, Po, Loire, Danube — which are usually formidable