this has implications that reach far beyond the arctic itself. the changes that we are seeing in the arctic don tjust stay in the arctic, there is emerging research that has come out that has shown that the warming arctic is having impacts on weather systems that actually traverse into lower latitudes where we live. weather events that were once relegated to a list of rare occurrences are now becoming more common and more severe. scientists are urging governments to finally heed their warnings and dramatically reduce global emissions. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. let s get more on the situation in germany and our correspondent jenny hill reports from a riverbed where the rhine river used to flow. good morning to you from the riverbed of the mighty rhine. just look at it, we should be under water here and yet the water levels have dropped so significantly
0ur correspondentjenny hill is where the water on the rhine used to be. good morning to you from the riverbed of the mighty rhine. we should be underwater here and get the water levels have dropped so significantly that it has simply dried out. behind me, you can see there is an island in the river. usually, people say they cannot get to the island without the use of a boat but the water level is so low, you can see someone picking their way over a stone bridge which has now been exposed. it is worth pointing out the water levels drop here every year, that is not unusual but this time it is happening more frequently, people tell us, and it is happening earlier in the year. usually, the dry season is september, october. whilst the levels are very low, they have not reached a record low set in 2018 but people here are extremely worried that the forecasters say they will drop further and the record will be
this is the riverbed of the mighty rhine. just take a look at it. we should be under water right now. instead, you can see just how dry and arid this particular part of the upper rhine has become. in fact, the river levels have dropped so far here that they have exposed an old stone footbridge. you can see people picking their way across it to the island in the river, which was previous to now only accessible by boat. a lot of those people, i think, rather enjoying the novelty of the new landscape, but there is serious concern here. that s because this is one of europe s great working rivers. goods go up and down this river, and we have seen barges here today. just a few of them making their way very slowly through the remaining water channel that s left there. to the factories, the industrial complexes fetching and carrying raw materials and manufactured products. the levels are now so low that some of those barges simply can t get through.
livelihoods go up in flames. but that is not all, droughts caused by high temperatures are happening across europe, with the european drought 0bservatory measuring 47% of the eu is under a drought warning, and 17% is already on red alert. the financial cost is on full display in germany, where these baking temperatures have drained germany s rhine river, a key commercial route for the country. lower water levels mean shipping boats are carrying lighter loads and struggling to sail through, driving up costs when the german economy is already facing challenges, due to its reliance on russian gas. the united kingdom is witnessing its driest period since 1976, and two pictures tell the tales. these were the green fields of cambridge last year. this is what it looks like now, scorched with the uk s
inching their way very slowly through a channel there. this section of the rhine has now become impassable for some of the larger vessels, others are still getting through but the companies that run them say they are having to lighten the load is so that they sit higher up in the water and, as i say, the forecast is that the water levels will drop further in the coming days, that is adding to concerns that the rhine will become impassable for many more of those vessels. it is also, of course, a commercial problem for those companies, they say at some point it becomes simply not worth their time or money to send very lightly laden barges to and from the companies that lined the river bank. it is of course of huge concern, notjust because of the ecological damage that is being done here but experts say the german economy could suffer significantly as a result, too, and that is before you get to the much, much bigger picture, which is that, as i say, people are worried this is happening m