New satellite images show Europe’s disappearing rivers due to drought

Central and Western Europe are grappling with worsening drought conditions this summer, impacting regions from southern England to northern Italy and across Central Europe. The European Commission’s Global Drought Observatory reports that approximately half of the continent's land area is affected, with 9 percent reaching an alert level. This includes significant portions of Germany, Hungary, Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Major European rivers, including the Loire, Po, Rhine, and Danube, have reached record-low levels due to persistent hot and dry weather. Al Jazeera's Open Source Unit analyzed satellite imagery that visually documents the escalating drought. Comparisons of images from previous years to recent ones show receding water levels, expanding islands and exposed sandy areas within river channels, and a noticeable browning of once-green agricultural lands and urban spaces.

In France, satellite comparisons of the Loire River near Saumur highlight a clear change in its shape, with wider islands and larger exposed areas visible in August images. Similarly, near Moissac, the Garonne River basin shows a significant shift from green fields in May to brown and pale shades by August, prompting early interventions to support river levels for the first time since 1993.

Germany's Rhine River, a crucial shipping artery, has also seen its water levels drop to unprecedented lows. Satellite images near Kaub reveal an expansion of exposed sandy and gravelly areas within the river channel. This dramatic reduction in water levels is causing significant disruptions to shipping traffic along the Rhine, underscoring the widespread impact of the ongoing drought across the continent.