Some of Switzerland’s best-known lakes are at their lowest level ever for August after a dry year so far in 2022, the environment ministry said.
At the same time, discharge levels on the Rhine, one of Europe’s major rivers which starts in the Swiss Alps, have never been so low in August since records began.
“There is a low water situation in Switzerland, especially on the central plateau and in the southern part of Ticino,” the country’s southernmost canton, said Michele Oberhansli, from the Federal Office for the Environment’s hydrology division.
“The reason for the existing situation is a precipitation deficit in the whole year of 2022, which affects the whole of Switzerland, as well as many other European countries,” she said.
Soil moisture is down across the country and drought is affecting forests and agriculture, she said.
Lakes Constance, Lucerne, Lugano and Walen “are currently recording water levels that have never been so low in an August month since measurements began”, said Ms Oberhansli.
Meanwhile Lakes Zug and Maggiore “continue to show values well below average”.
The shores of Lake Maggiore mark the lowest point in Switzerland, normally at 193 metres above sea level.
Except the lakes in the Jura region in the northwest and Lake Thun, the levels of all the other larger Swiss lakes are also below the long-term average.
Meanwhile many Swiss rivers are recording readings that only occur once every two to 20 years.
“Discharge values on the Reuss and Rhine have never been so low since measurements began in August,” said Ms Oberhansli.
The hydrologist said rain over the coming days should “slightly alleviate” the low water and drought levels, but would “not yet be sufficient to ease the overall situation”.
Following a dry winter, the summer heatwaves hitting Europe have been catastrophic for Switzerland’s Alpine glaciers, which have been melting at an accelerated rate.
A layer of ice – 15 metres thick in 2012 – has covered the Tsanfleuron Pass between two glaciers since at least the Roman era.
But most of it has gone and the ice on the pass will have melted away completely by the end of September, a ski resort said last week.
Violent storms hammer France after weeks of drought
The French weather service has warned of flash flooding risks across much of the south, where a historic drought has parched the rugged Mediterranean hills, a day after fierce rainstorms lashed much of the country.
Alert levels remained in effect for five southern departments hit by storms overnight that dumped 2-4cm of rain in less than an hour, with some areas reporting up to 7-9cm.
With the ground hardened by this summer’s extreme drought – July was the driest month recorded since 1961 – much of the rain could not be absorbed by the soil and instead overflowed into streams and roads.
No injuries were reported, but public transport was disrupted including in Paris, where videos of inundated metro stations swamped social media.
“The storms are making their way east … and can be violent with intense rain that in some places could see up to eight centimetres fall in a short amount of time” and potentially causing tornado-like conditions, the Meteo France weather agency said.
Authorities also urged people to postpone travel plans if possible, and to avoid waterways or trying to seek shelter under trees.
“Just 30cm of water is enough to sweep away a car,” the prefecture of the Var department on the French Riviera said.
The rain was nonetheless a relief for firefighters who have been battling a string of wildfires across France, in particular in the southwest, with most blazes now contained after burning thousands of hectares.
UK warns of danger to life flooding
Dangerous floods are set to hit parts of the UK amid thunderstorms lashing the country, the UK Met Office has warned.
It comes as Thames Water, which supplies 15 million people, is putting a hosepipe ban in place next week, saying water levels in its reservoirs were “much lower than usual”.
The UK Met Office has issued an amber thunderstorm warning covering most of the south east of England, including parts of London until 10pm today, meaning people should expect flooding and disruption.
The warning says: “Fast flowing or deep floodwater is likely, causing danger to life.”
Flooding is likely to affect homes and businesses “quickly”, as 30mm to 50mm of rain could fall in just an hour, while a few places may see more than 100mm in a few hours.
Forecasters say this could lead to train and bus cancellations amid difficult driving conditions, power cuts and communities becoming cut off from roads.
Lightning, hail and strong winds will also lash areas included in the warning, which spreads across Suffolk, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex.
Grahame Madge, UK Met Office spokesman said: “Heavy showers and thunderstorms will lead to some localised flooding and general disruption.
“Not everywhere will experience heavy downpours, or even see rain, but those affected areas could see 30mm to 50mm of rain falling in an hour.”
Parts of the UK have faced two days of heavy downpours and flooding, and a yellow thunderstorm warning has been in place across most of southern England, Wales and central areas, including the Midlands.
It warned of torrential, thundery rain until the end of Wednesday.
A drought was officially declared across most of England following the driest July for 50 years and the driest first half of the year since 1976.
The Environment Agency has said it will take weeks of rain to replenish water sources and end the drought, as Thames Water joined Welsh Water, Southern Water and South East Water in implementing a hosepipe ban.
South West Water and Yorkshire Water will follow suit on August 23 and 26 respectively – meaning more than 29.4 million customers across the UK will be prohibited from using hosepipes by the end of next week.
Serbs wade in shrinking Danube
In Serbia, sunseekers flocking to the riverside beaches of Novi Sad have adopted a new pastime this summer – wading across a vast stretch of the Danube usually reserved for cargo barges and cruise ships.
The navigable channel of western Europe’s longest river, a trade and transport artery that passes through ten countries, is usually several hundred metres wide where it flows through Serbia’s second-largest city.
But drought and record high temperatures have reduced that to a narrow lane only being kept open by dredging, with thewater depth no more than waist high across almost half of the river’s width.
“We have deployed almost (our) entire (dredging) capacity…We are struggling to keep out waterways navigable along their full length,” Veljko Kovacevic, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transportation, told Reuters.
The same weather fronts – viewed by scientists as a consequence of global warming – have snarled river traffic on vital arteries in other parts of Europe, notably the Rhine in Germany and Italy’s Po. Water levels in France’s Loire are also close to record lows.
In Germany, energy generation has been impaired. The same is true in Serbia, where meteorological data shows the water depth at less than half the usual August level on the Danube and its other major navigable waterway, the Sava.
In both countries, the low water levels have impeded the transportation of coal, which in Serbia is vital for powering the winter output of thermal plants that account for about two thirds of Serbia’s electricity output.
The state-run EPS power utility said this month that the low water flow so far this year had caused a 27% year-on-year drop in production at hydropower plants.
In neighbouring Bosnia, the EPHZHB utility, which generates its electricity solely from on hydropower plants, has called on the government to ban electricity exports until the end of September, saying it could not otherwise guarantee regular supplies to its 200,000 customers.
In Serbia, low river levels and stagnant waters have also threatened wildlife and fisheries, said Marija Trivuncevic, of an angling association the northern province of Vojvodina.
“Over the past several months we had … situations when(some) water levels almost fell below the biological minimum,” she said.
Additional reporting PA
Accreditation: AFP/Reuters
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