Drought effects hit Germany from shipping and industry to ecology and recreation

Low water levels in Germany’s main rivers have forced goods transport onto the country’s motorways, as vessels struggle to navigate shallower water while carrying their usual cargo. The chemicals industry as well as steel producers, which rely on raw material deliveries made by ship on the Rhine, Danube and other rivers, have been forced to reorganise their logistics due to low water levels, newspaper Die Zeit reported.

“If ships can carry fewer loads or are unable to sail at all, costs rise, supply chains come under pressure and production is restricted,” said Wolfgang Große Entrup, head of chemicals industry association VCI.

The agriculture sector is also affected by the shipping disruptions, with freight costs for grain, animal feed and fertilisers rising, Stefanie Sabet, secretary-general of the German Farmers’ Association, told the newspaper in a separate article.

Drought conditions, and changes in precipitation patterns caused by climate change have led to multiple instances of record low water levels across Germany’s most important shipping routes in recent years.

Germany’s new transport minister, Steffen Bilger, has convened a meeting with representatives from trade associations and industry across the steel, chemicals and logistics sectors today (6 August) to discuss options for action in light of the low water levels. The aim is to identify challenges so that they can then be addressed, a transport ministry spokesperson said. 

NGOs criticised the fact that no environmental organisation would be present at the meeting. “Discussing only adjustments to navigation channels for shipping at this stage falls short and ignores the link between degraded and engineered rivers and the low water levels of the Rhine, Danube and Elbe,” Jörg-Andreas Krüger, head of environmental NGO NABU, said. 

“Rather than relying solely on the expansion of waterways, transport policy must preserve climate-resilient rivers, strengthen rail freight transport and effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” environmental transport association VCD added. 

Transport ministers from the country’s federal states were also set to meet and to call on the national government to introduce measures to tackle low water levels, such as a support programme for vessels capable of navigating shallower waters. “The increase in extreme low-water situations expected in the future as a result of climate change requires not only short-term but also medium- and long-term adaptation measures,” a draft proposal seen by newspaper Rheinische Post states, Handelsblatt reported.

Plants and animals on floodplains, meanwhile, are exposed to warmer waters with lower oxygen levels and higher pollutant concentration from wastewater during prolonged periods of low river water levels, which provide poor living conditions, public broadcaster ARD reported. For example, frogs, fishes, mussels and dragonflies lose food sources and refuge, floodplain ecology researcher Christian Damm from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) told the broadcaster.

Germany’s mountain regions are also feeling the drought's effects. The German Alpine Club (DAV) has had to charter helicopters to bring water to a mountain hut, after winters with little snow and long periods without rainfall, combined with prolonged heatwaves, have made near-surface water scarcer. “We are currently facing [water] shortages at almost all our huts,” said spokesperson Julian Rohn, as reported by Der Spiegel. 

In addition to heatwaves, climate change is making many other extreme weather events more frequent and more severe. Persistently low rainfall levels are becoming more common and when the rain does come, it is frequently in prolonged downpours, causing flooding. Wildfires are also becoming more intense and more frequent.