Drought hits Europe's rivers hard

Europe is grappling with the severe consequences of prolonged heat and drought, which have drastically reduced the flow of its major rivers, impacting vital sectors of the economy and environment.

Along the Po River in Italy, farmers have suffered significant crop losses due to insufficient water for irrigation. In Western Europe, the Rhine River, a crucial transport artery, has seen water levels so low that cargo ships must operate at a fraction of their capacity to avoid running aground. This has hampered production in key industries.

The impact extends to energy production. Both Hungary and Romania have had to halt their nuclear power plants because water levels in the Danube River dropped too low to safely cool the reactors. Similarly, several French nuclear facilities along the Rhône and Garonne rivers have reduced output or shut down entirely, contributing to a sharp increase in electricity prices.

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This is precisely what we have warned about and seen in our calculations and models since the 1990s. There is more energy in the atmosphere, and thus the water cycle is disrupted.

These low water levels also affect wildlife. Higher water temperatures reduce oxygen levels, leading to widespread fish deaths and damage to aquatic ecosystems. Hydrology professor Berit Arheimer from SMHI warns that this is consistent with climate change predictions, which indicate a shift towards more extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts and intense rainfall.

Arheimer explains that melting glaciers, which historically acted as natural water reservoirs, are exacerbating the problem. Furthermore, human activities such as land drainage, river straightening, and increased groundwater extraction contribute to the reduced water levels. "Groundwater is the motor of the rivers, the very base flow," she noted, emphasizing the interconnectedness of water systems.

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A major change is that we have drained the land, straightened watercourses, and use significantly more groundwater today than we have done previously, and one can say that groundwater is the motor of the rivers, the very base flow.