Ships plying the Rhine in Switzerland have had to ditch much of their cargo as a a prolonged absence of rain causes water levels to dip way below normal.

"/> Ships plying the Rhine in Switzerland have had to ditch much of their cargo as a a prolonged absence of rain causes water levels to dip way below normal.

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Lack of rain hurts cargo firms on Rhine

Ships plying the Rhine in Switzerland have had to ditch much of their cargo as a a prolonged absence of rain causes water levels to dip way below normal.

Published: 24 November 2011 15:37 CET
Lack of rain hurts cargo firms on Rhine
Swiss images (File)

With almost no rain falling on Switzerland in the last month, the depth of the Rhine stands at a measly 1.5 metres in the harbour in Basel, compared to its usual three or four metres in November. 

The shallow waters are causing major losses for cargo companies that can only transport between 30 to 40 percent of their usual load.

The head of the Danser cargo firm, Heinz Amacker, said revenue was down by 50 percent over the last two weeks.

“Cargo ships normally carry 3,200 tonnes of goods, but at the moment they are only transporting 900 to 1,000,” Amacker told newspaper NZZ.

He said it was impossible to compensate by increasing the price threefold, but he admits having raised the price per tonne transported by 20 to 30 percent.

If it does not rain in the coming weeks, the situation could become precarious, said Amacker. If the water level drops to 1.20 metres, ships will no longer be able to dock in the city’s port. 

According to weather forecasts, Switzerland is set remain in the grip of the unusual autumn drought for several more weeks. The protracted dry spell is the second of its kind this year, after very little rain fell in the period from February to April.

In the last 150 years, only 1921 saw drier weather for the period from January to October.

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

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