As Europe bakes under record heat waves this summer, droughts have also caused water levels in rivers and lakes to plunge across the continent.
In the Netherlands, the Vaal River is so low that it falls below the bottom marker on the bridges.
In Germany, the Rhine is very dry, causing shipping problems.
And in Spain, receding water in a reservoir has revealed a prehistoric treasure.
The Dolmen of Guadalperal, or Spanish Stonehenge, has been uncovered in the province of Cáceres for only the fourth time since the 1960s. The stones date back thousands of years but were flooded due to development under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
Elsewhere in Europe, so-called hunger stones – markers placed by people during years of drought – are once again appearing in rivers.
It is not uncommon for water levels to drop during the summer months, but this year has been particularly extreme.
“It’s quite extraordinary, especially at this time of year,” Martina Becker of German company HGK Shipping told the BBC. “This is an unusual situation for us and the question is what will happen in October when the dry months usually arrive. We are already approaching the record lows we had in 2018. We could reach those levels next week.”
Climate disasters such as drought are inextricably linked to human-induced climate change. According to NASA, the planet has already warmed 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, and that could make disasters worse. Stopping this vicious cycle requires drastically reducing our dependence on climate-polluting fossil fuels.
