00:00Climate Now, in collaboration with Copernicus.
00:14Hello and welcome to Climate Now, our unique monthly update on what's really happening to our planet.
00:20Coming up in the programme, we're here on the River Rhine in Germany,
00:24where low water levels are putting transport firms under pressure.
00:29I think a lot of people are aware that this is going to increase due to climate change.
00:33That we'll have variations of high water, low water, high water and low water,
00:39and we have to react accordingly.
00:43First, the latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service,
00:47which shows that here in Europe, this August was by far the warmest on record.
00:52Temperatures last month were 1.7 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average.
00:59And that is almost a degree higher than the previous record for August back in another warm year, 2018.
01:06Now, overall, we had a very hot summer here in Europe,
01:09and let's have a look back in time to see how it compares.
01:12This graphic shows temperature anomalies for June, July and August combined since 1979.
01:18And you can see the warming trend with the summer of 2022 rising up at the end 1.3 degrees
01:25Celsius above average.
01:27Now, let's switch over to look at the combined temperature anomalies for June, July and August on a global scale.
01:33You can see it was a warmer than average summer across many areas of the Northern Hemisphere.
01:40And then, highlighted in blue, is Pakistan, which was cooler as it experienced heavy rains leading to devastating floods that
01:48claimed 1,400 lives.
01:52Now, to our report from the River Rhine in Germany,
01:55where this year's record dry weather left water levels so low
01:59that many barges could only carry a quarter of their usual load.
02:03The crisis has left the river transport sector rushing to adapt, and I went to meet them.
02:10Barges on the River Rhine continue to carry lighter loads as the water level remains low.
02:16Supply chains are severely disrupted.
02:18Today, there are no container ships expected here at the port of Koblenz.
02:23For manager Arndt Pudelbach, it's a frustrating time.
02:30Water levels are already a concern for us, and that's a very unsatisfactory situation because the demand is there.
02:37But unfortunately, we can't offer the capacity to our customers and offer the service that we would like to offer.
02:47The solution they can offer is what's called a land bridge, transporting goods and raw materials by rail or road
02:54for certain segments of their journey are put down the Rhine.
02:57This company is looking ahead, too, by commissioning new electrified vessels that can navigate shallower water.
03:06Of course, we'll adapt the ships we're building, so by default they can also carry more tonnage, even with a
03:12lower water level.
03:13That's an extremely important point in order to have the ships well utilised when there's little water in the Rhine.
03:22The Rhine dropped below average early this year because a warm, dry spring meant meltwater from the Alps came and
03:28went swiftly.
03:30It means that the water here at Kaub, one of the shallowest sections, could remain low this autumn, according to
03:35scientist N.O. Nielsen.
03:37We also have to remember that we are at the beginning of the low-tide season.
03:41We are now at the beginning of September, and the low-flow season here lasts until October, sometimes into November.
03:48Many adaptation plans are in place.
03:51The government will deepen the shallowest channels, and shipping companies now have sophisticated river forecasts to better manage logistics.
03:58But Nielsen still voices concerns over how extreme the situation could become.
04:03In future climate change conditions, we actually expect the low-water situation to get worse if we don't engage in
04:10climate protection.
04:11It can be expressed in terms of intensity.
04:14That is, how low could the water level go down to?
04:17How little river discharge could we have?
04:19How little could the ships take on board?
04:21But also in terms of duration.
04:23That means we could be stuck in low-water situations for weeks or months, and we have to adapt.
04:29How do we react in such situations?
04:36That's all we have time for.
04:38You can read more about why the Rhine is so low and see projections for the future on our website,
04:44euronews.com slash climate now.
04:46And I'll see you next time.
04:54Climate Now, in collaboration with Copernicus.
04:57euronews.
04:59and others.
04:59We'll see you next time.
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