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Latest news bulletin | March 12th – Midday

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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.
00:21Coming up in the programme, we're here on the River Rhine in Germany,
00:25where 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,
00:34that 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.
01:19And you can see the warming trend with the summer of 2022 rising up at the end,
01:241.3 degrees Celsius above average.
01:27Now, let's switch over to look at the combined temperature anomalies
01:31for June, July and August on a global scale.
01:34You can see it was a warmer-than-average summer across many areas of the Northern Hemisphere,
01:40and then highlighted in blue is Pakistan,
01:43which was cooler as it experienced heavy rains leading to devastating floods that claimed 1,400 lives.
01:52Now, to our report from the River Rhine in Germany,
01:56where this year's record dry weather left water levels so low
02:00that many barges could only carry a quarter of their usual load.
02:04The 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.
02:19Today, there are no container ships expected here at the port of Koblenz.
02:23For manager Arndt Budebach, it's a frustrating time.
02:30Water levels are already a concern for us, and that's a very unsatisfactory situation
02:35because the demand is there.
02:37But unfortunately, we can't offer the capacity to our customers
02:40and offer the service that we would like to offer.
02:48The solution they can offer is what's called a land bridge,
02:51transporting goods and raw materials by rail or road
02:54for certain segments of their journey up or down the Rhine.
02:57This company is looking ahead, too, by commissioning new electrified vessels
03:02that can navigate shallower water.
03:05Of course, we'll adapt the ships we're building,
03:08so by default they can also carry more tonnage, even with a lower water level.
03:13That's an extremely important point in order to have the ships well utilized
03:17when there's little water in the Rhine.
03:22The Rhine dropped below average early this year because a warm, dry spring
03:26meant meltwater from the Alps came and went swiftly.
03:29It means that the water here at Kaub, one of the shallowest sections,
03:33could remain low this autumn, according to scientist Enno Nilsson.
03:38We also have to remember that we are at the beginning of the low-tide season.
03:42We are now at the beginning of September,
03:44and the low-flow season here lasts until October, sometimes into November.
03:49Many adaptation plans are in place.
03:51The government will deepen the shallowest channels,
03:54and shipping companies now have sophisticated river forecasts
03:57to better manage logistics.
03:59But Nilsson still voices concerns over how extreme the situation could become.
04:04In future climate change conditions,
04:06we actually expect the low-water situation to get worse
04:09if we don't engage in climate 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, but also in terms of duration.
04:23That means we could be stuck in low-water situations for weeks or months,
04:27and 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
04:41and see projections for the future on our website,
04:44euronews.com, and I'll see you next time.
04:57Copernicus.