The water levels of four large Swiss lakes are at their lowest for the month of August, after a year 2022 stingy with rain, according to the Federal Office for the Environment.
These are Lakes of Constance, Lucerne, Lugano and Walen.
The volumes of water flowing into the Rhine, which has its source in the Swiss Alps, have also never been so low for the month of August.
"There is a low water situation in Switzerland, especially on the central plateau and in the south of Ticino", the Italian-speaking part of the country, Michèle Oberhänsli, the head of the data service at the hydrological information section of the Federal Office for the Environment.
The cause ?
The “lack of rainfall in 2022,” she explained.
Most waterways affected
Lakes Constance, Lucerne, Lugano and Walen are not the only ones affected.
Lake Maggiore, which at 193 meters is the lowest point in Switzerland, and that of Zug "continue to show values well below average", noted Michèle Oberhänsli.
With the exception of the Jura and Thun lakes, the levels of all the other large Swiss lakes are also below the long-term average.
And many rivers experience a low water situation that statistically only occurs every two or even every twenty years.
"The flows of the Rhine and the Reuss have never been so low since the start of the measurements for the month of August", explained Michèle Oberhänsli.
According to this hydrologist, the rain which should fall in the coming days should "slightly alleviate" this situation in Switzerland.
But that will be “not enough”.
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