After months without sufficient rainfall, further record low water levels could be measured on the Rhine.
In Emmerich, where only two centimeters were displayed on Monday afternoon, a water level of zero and later even negative readings would soon be possible, the waterways and shipping administration announced via its “Elwis” portal.
The previous low was seven centimeters at the end of October 2018.
The water levels are not to be confused with the lowest point in the river.
The fairways for commercial shipping are significantly deeper than the water level according to the gauge.
This only shows the difference between the water surface and the so-called zero level, which is not at the deepest point of the river bed.
Pointer already below zero, Rhine ferry stops operating
The pointer at the Emmerich level house showed zero or even a little less on Monday afternoon because the small amounts of water on the large level indicator are only displayed with inaccuracies, said Martin Wolters from the Waterways and Shipping Office.
The Rhine ferry at Rees was discontinued because of the low water, as the ferry company announced.
Previous negative records, mostly from the extreme low water in October 2018, are also shaky upstream: In Duisburg, the previous low of 153 centimeters could already be undercut on Tuesday morning, the authority announced on Monday.
At the Cologne level, the previous low of 69 centimeters may be set on Thursday evening.
"As long as it doesn't rain, it's going downhill," said a spokesman for the authority on Sunday of the dpa.
According to the DWD, it should hardly rain on Tuesday.
The meteorologists only expect showery rain on Wednesday and Thursday night, and longer-lasting rain during the day on Thursday.