FRANKFURT, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Water levels on the Rhine River at key checkpoints in Germany recovered slightly on Monday but remained at critical levels, hampering cargo shipping.
The Rhine gauge at the German town of Kaub stood at around one to three centimeters on Monday, up from minus three centimeters on Sunday, when it hit an all-time low, according to data released by the German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV).
The gauge reading measures the distance between the water surface and a fixed reference point. The actual water depth at Kaub is around one meter, making the waterway largely unnavigable for fully loaded commercial cargo barges.
Severe drought and heat waves have been cited as the main reasons for the Rhine's low water levels.
According to weather forecasts, warm and dry conditions are expected to persist across the Rhine region, with water levels likely to remain critically low for some time.
Low water levels along the Rhine continue to disrupt inland shipping in Germany, forcing cargo barges to reduce their loads and adding further pressure to the country's freight transport sector, which is already struggling with high fuel prices. ■
