As Europe enters this summer under heat wave recordDrought has also caused water levels in rivers and lakes across the continent to drop.
In the Netherlands, the Waal River is so low that it has fallen below the bottom marker of the bridges.
In Germany, the Rhine is very dry cause shipping problems.
And in Spain, receding water in a reservoir has revealed a prehistoric treasure.
Dolmen of Guadalperal, or Stonehenge of Spain, have been contacted in the province of Cáeres for the fourth time since the 1960s. The stones are thousands of years old but flooded due to development under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Elsewhere in Europe, called “Hunger Stones” are appearing on the rivers again – markers placed by people during droughts many years ago.
It’s not uncommon for water levels to drop during the summer months, but this year has been especially harsh.
Martina Becker from German company HGK Shipping told BBC. “This is an unusual situation for us and the question is what happens in October, when the dry months usually come. We’ve come close to the record low we’ve ever had. in 2018. We could hit that level next week.”
Weather disasters such as drought are closely linked to human-caused climate change. The planet has warmed by 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, according to NASA, and that makes the disaster worse. Stopping this vicious cycle will require us to drastically reduce our reliance on climate-polluting fossil fuels.
