AdvertisementWorldEuropeHeatwave Germany’s Rhine River may ‘split in two’ as new heatwave roasts Europe David Crowe August 11, 2026 — 4:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. France is bracing for its fifth heatwave of the season, while record-low river levels threaten to disrupt shipping in Germany after already causing outages at a nuclear power station in Hungary. In Germany, the federal association of inland shipping companies, known as the BDB, expressed concern about low water levels in the Rhine. “Commercial shipping will no longer be able to transport goods ​in the region at such low water levels,” he ​said. Boats lie dry in the Rhenau Harbour due to low water levels of the Rhine River in Cologne, Germany.