Drought Leaves the Elbe So Shallow in Ústí nad Labem That People Can Walk Across the Riverbed

In Ústí nad Labem, water levels in the Elbe have dropped to 125 centimetres, below the official drought threshold of 133 centimetres — and forecasts suggest the situation could worsen further in the coming days.

The Czech Republic's largest river, flowing just a few kilometres from the German border, currently looks nothing like its usual self. The exposed riverbed is now dry enough to walk across, while birds forage among the vegetation that has quickly sprung up in the shallow waters.

Children watching from viewpoints along the bank say the Elbe looks more like an ordinary stream than a mighty river. Under normal conditions, the volume of water flowing through this stretch of the river is four times greater than it is now.

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Source: novinky.cz