From Hungary to Hawaii, from the arid Rhine to the now-recovering Rio Grande, or from Casablanca to California, across much of the northern hemisphere, summer droughts and high temperatures threaten everything from agriculture to freight industries. It has a serious impact.
This is your gateway to an overview of the latest drought-related developments around the world and more bespoke coverage of DW.
Germany — Logistics operators suspend most barge operations on Upper and Middle Lines
Due to low water levels, German container logistics company Contargo has suspended most of its inland shipping operations on the Upper and Middle Lines.
With no heavy rains expected in the next few days, the company expects the level of the Kaub gauge to drop below 40cm (15,7in) from this weekend.
In a statement posted on the company’s website, Contargo said: “Then our barges will no longer be able to navigate without danger and for safety reasons navigation in the Upper and Middle Rhine will be greatly reduced. We will have to stop it at some point,” he said.
Germany — farmers’ organizations issue harvest warnings
Joachim Lukwit, president of the German Farmers Association, warned on Friday that this year’s harvest could be severely affected by a late summer heat wave without impending rains.
He added that the combination of inflation and the conflict in Ukraine is exacerbating the situation even for Western European farmers hundreds or thousands of kilometers from the front line.
“Right now we are fighting on many fronts,” Lukwied told German news agency DPA. “Fertilizer prices have quadrupled for him over the previous year, energy prices have doubled for him, and fodder prices have risen.”
Rukwied says that if the rains don’t get enough and soon enough, yields can drop by as much as 30 or 40 percent.
Rukwied said the 2022 grain harvest is largely on schedule, but crops harvested later this year, such as potatoes and sugar beets, are particularly at risk and cost more as a result. there is a possibility.
Rukwied also warned of the impact on farmers’ own winter stocks. Grass has turned brown across much of the country and ‘absolutely nothing is regenerating’ – some farmers are unable to cut fresh food from fallow land, so they cut livestock from animals already set aside for the winter. must be fed.
