Europe’s Key Rivers Fall to Critical Levels, Aggravating Energy Crunch

In France, the Rhône and Garonne have been too warm to cool nuclear reactors, leading to lower output. In Eastern Europe, Danube levels are dwindling, impeding a key Ukrainian grain route.

While Europe’s rivers have increasingly suffered dry spells in recent years—which scientists say will become more common because of the warming climate—this year’s crisis comes as the continent struggles with reduced gas deliveries from Russia. The German government has decided to restart coal plants to alleviate the crunch, a task now complicated by river disruptions.

Shipping costs, meanwhile, have skyrocketed, fueling already high inflation, since rivers are key arteries for transporting everything from grains to chemicals to oil. And low water levels in reservoirs are curtailing hydropower generation, adding to the strain on power supplies.

“This is clearly making Europe’s energy problems worse,” said Fabian Skarboe Rønningen, senior analyst at consulting firm Rystad Energy. “Low river levels and warm water temperatures affect both German coal and French nuclear power, two of the largest sources of supply in Europe.”

In Eastern Europe, shipping via parts of the Danube, which drains into the Black Sea, has become largely uneconomical since vessels can only operate at around a third of their capacity, said Bulgarian captain Alexander Kamenov, whose ship, the Adora, is currently stuck at port.

“I look at it from the port now,” Mr. Kamenov said. Some islands in the middle of the river are now accessible by foot, he said.

Left: People play badminton on the banks of a dried-up section of the Waal river in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Right: A sheep lies on the dried bed of the Guadiana river during a drought in the Cijara reservoir, Spain. Pierre Crom/Getty Images | Susana Vera/Reuters

Desiccated…