Barge captain Peter Claereboets sails on the Rhine River which has a low water level due to drought in Lobith, Netherlands August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
By Brian Wingfield
Aug 14, 2022 (Bloomberg) –The water level at a key waypoint on the Rhine River is poised to steady at an extremely low level this week, as a climate crisis compounds Europe’s worst energy supply crunch in years.
The marker at Kaub, a narrow and shallow point west of Frankfurt, is set to drop to 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) by Monday and hold near that level until at least Aug. 18, the latest German government data show. A forecast on Saturday showed it dipping slightly below the 30-centimeter mark in the coming week.
The Rhine is western Europe’s most important river for the transport of fuel and other industrial goods. Many barges find it uneconomical to transit past Kaub when the water level there is at 40 centimeters or below. It’s currently at about 35 centimeters. The marker is not the actual depth of the river, but rather a measure for navigability.
© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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