▲ The exposed riverbed of the Rhine River
On the afternoon of the 5th (local time), dozens of leisure boats were lined up at Rheinauhafen, a small marina on the Rhine River in downtown Cologne, Germany.
The boats were completely motionless like shipwrecks, with the bottoms of their hulls resting on sandbars that were clearly exposed as the river water receded.
Passing tourists pulled out their smartphones and took pictures in fascination.
"The water depth here is at most 30 centimeters right now. Over there, the riverbed is already exposed. It's been four weeks since the boats got stuck like this."
Stefan, who runs the boat club KAMC here, said that it was the first time since October 2018, when a record-breaking drought hit, that low river levels prevented boats from going out.
He said, "Usually, the water level is lowest in September or October. This year, it's only August and we are already seeing such an extreme situation."
Pascal, who works with him, pointed to a water level marker on one side of the marina wall and explained that the river water had dropped by more than 2 meters compared to normal levels.
He smiled as he said, "We've only been doing repairs and maintenance for four weeks. There are no customers and no money coming in, but we still have to work."
Stefan said, "Even experienced people tried to pilot their boats out and got stuck in the mud. Since driving around right now would just suck the garbage gathered at the bottom of the river into the engine and break it, it's better to just leave them be."
The Rhine River, called the lifeline of Europe beyond Germany, is drying up.
This is because a heatwave began early across Europe last May, followed by a dry summer with unusually little rainfall.
The riverbanks left without water looked like a wasteland as the gravel and garbage that had been lying on the riverbed were revealed.
Although Cologne city authorities showed signs of drought due to low rainfall since spring and banned water extraction from 24 city streams flowing into the Rhine River last June, it was of no use.
The Cologne water level observation tower, which has been measuring the Rhine River's water level since 1816, was pointing between 0 and 1.
The all-time average water level at this station is about 3 meters.
This means the river water has dropped by more than 2 meters compared to normal.
The official water level measured on the afternoon of this day was 70 centimeters, which was up 2 centimeters from the previous day.
The water level at this point dropped to 67 centimeters on the 1st, breaking the previous record low of 69 centimeters measured in October 2018.
When the water level drops below 139 centimeters, navigation for large vessels becomes difficult, requiring them to reduce cargo or deploy smaller ships.
The German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration predicted that the water level here would hit 67 centimeters again this weekend.
Cruise ship docks gathered around the observation tower were quiet.
A large passenger ship, seemingly over 100 meters in length, was moored all day without carrying any passengers.
Some tourists turned away after checking the operation timetable in front of the ticket booth.
Mário, who said he came from Portugal, said, "I came to escape the heat and wanted to take a boat ride, but the times don't work out."
KD, the largest cruise ship company in the Rhine basin, suspended the operation of large vessels due to safety concerns.
Small cruise ships that can accommodate at most around 100 people are still operating.
KD urged passengers to be careful, explaining that the slope of the boarding ramp is steep because the water level has dropped far below the dock.
Marco, who works at another company's ticket booth, said, "Our company only operates small passenger ships, so we're still okay. KD, which operates large vessels, will suffer more severe damage."
Saying he is a university student, he expressed concern, "The water level needs to be three times what it is now. As you can see, cargo ship operations have also decreased a lot. Places (upstream) like Bonn and Koblenz are in worse situations than here, so cargo ships can't travel there."
Flowing 1,233 kilometers from the Swiss Alps to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Rhine River carries raw materials such as petroleum products, iron ore, and grain to the industrial zone in western Germany.
Companies symbolizing German manufacturing, such as steelmaker ThyssenKrupp and chemical company BASF, established themselves along the river and achieved the so-called "Miracle on the Rhine."
Normally, about 400 cargo ships travel up and down the Cologne area along the river daily.
However, as the logistics artery responsible for about 80% of Germany's inland waterway transport is blocked by the drought, concerns are rising that the already struggling German economy will take a hit.
The negative impact on the economy of riverside villages, where tourism centered on summer cruises makes up a large proportion, cannot be ignored either.
German think tanks have released forecasts that the current drought will shave anywhere from 0.1 percentage points to as much as 0.4 percentage points off economic growth.
This means that even the originally expected growth forecast of around 0.5% could go up in smoke.
Concerns are already turning into reality.
ThyssenKrupp, which receives raw materials from Rotterdam to its Duisburg plant via the Rhine River, reduced its pig iron production last month.
According to German government figures, gasoline and diesel prices in areas near the Rhine River last month were up to 11 cents (181 won) more expensive per liter than in other regions.
Berenenberg Bank forecasted that German consumer prices could temporarily rise by an additional 0.5 percentage points.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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