Shafaqna English– In a striking scene at a marina located in Novi Sad, a city in northern Serbia, dozens of pleasure boats were left floating in a thick, greenish sludge—this murky residue is essentially all that remains of the Danube’s waters after the river receded by several hundred meters from its previous banks. Meanwhile, larger cargo barges, which require deeper drafts, have been repositioned and are now moored in the central, deeper channels of the river where navigation remains feasible. Over the course of this week, water levels along the Danube River have plummeted to historic lows in both Croatia and Serbia, with the receding waters exposing hundreds of square kilometers of previously submerged sandbanks and riverbeds. This alarming development is directly attributed to the exceptionally prolonged heatwaves and severe drought conditions that have persisted throughout the summer, which have severely diminished water resources across Europe’s major inland waterways. www.shafaqna.com