WARSAW, Sept 9 (Askume) – The water level of Poland’s longest river, the Vistula, has fallen to a record low, exposing Warsaw’s sandy cliffs and making water levels so shallow that moose were photographed walking on the river, the meteorological service said.
The Northern Hemisphere experienced its hottest summer on record, leading to drought in many areas, according to the European Union’s climate change monitoring agency.
Data from the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) shows that the river water is 22 centimetres at a measurement point in Warsaw. The previous record was 26 centimetres in 2015.
“There is no precipitation, high temperatures and high evaporation, but at the same time the winter is warm, which means there is no thaw and therefore no replenishment of resources, surface water and groundwater,” said Grzegoz Valiyev ski.
Polsat News journalists filmed a moose walking from side to side near the village of Radwanko, some 60 kilometres from the capital, with the water level well below the knees, showing how shallow the river has become.
There are more than 30,000 moose in Poland. They are rarely seen traveling in deep water where currents are often strong.
When the Vistula fell to a record low in 2015, Poland’s grid operator and some power producers that use river water for open cooling systems had to cut generation to avoid overheating the river and endangering fish.
However, Poland’s Power Grid said on Monday that a rising share of renewable energy, particularly produced by solar farms, and providing utilities with more options to invest in imported power and hydro technology meant the problem had eased.
A spokesman for grid operator PSE said: “There is therefore currently no indication that, despite the very low water level in the Vistula river, this will cause any problems for the power industry.”
