In Lake Constance, a new island has emerged. In Berlin, a river is flowing backward. A large number of lakes and ponds are seeing dead fish along their banks. Barges are hardly being loaded so they don't run aground.
This is the scene in Germany after a long and dry summer has left the country's lakes and rivers at record low levels. The levels are causing chaos for the inland shipping industry while causing environmental damage and billions of dollars in losses. Experts fear this could be a sign of what's to come as global temperatures rise.
The drought-like conditions have hit nearly 90 percent of the country this year.
In Magdeburg, the Elbe River has been so low that no ships carrying goods south to Leipzig or on to the Czech Republic have been able to pass through since the end of June, said Hartmut Rhein of the city’s waterways and shipping department.
The river’s down to a depth less than 20 inches there when at least double that level is needed for normal shipping traffic, he said.
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