Water levels on the Danube River fell to historic lows in Serbia and Croatia, as prolonged heatwaves and severe drought continue to grip southeastern Europe, disrupting commercial navigation, constraining fuel imports, and exposing shipwrecks that have remained submerged for decades.
The sharp decline in water levels has stranded dozens of boats, forced cargo vessels to seek deeper navigation channels, and revealed vast stretches of previously submerged riverbanks, underscoring the growing economic and environmental consequences of extreme weather across Europe's inland waterways.
In the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, dozens of recreational boats were left grounded in marinas covered by thick layers of algae after the river receded dramatically. Commercial barges and freight vessels have also been compelled to operate only in the deepest sections of the river, significantly reducing transport efficiency.
Authorities said the Danube reached its lowest recorded levels this week in both Serbia and Croatia, exposing hundreds of square kilometers of sandy riverbanks in what experts describe as one of the most severe drought-related events to affect the region's waterways in recent years.
The decline in water levels is already affecting regional energy supplies. Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović said the country has received only 25% of its targeted fuel imports for July, as barges and fuel tankers have been forced to operate at just 30% to 40% of their carrying capacity because of the shallow river conditions.
The Danube serves as one of Europe's most important inland transport corridors, carrying fuel, agricultural commodities, industrial goods, and raw materials across Central and Southeastern Europe. Reduced navigability threatens to increase transportation costs and disrupt regional supply chains if drought conditions persist.
Beyond commercial shipping, the drought is taking a growing toll on fishing, tourism, and local ecosystems.
Vladimir Stakić, publisher of a Serbian fishing magazine, attributed the unprecedented decline in water levels to climate change.
"Lower rainfall and higher temperatures linked to climate change have accelerated evaporation, leading to an alarming drop in river levels," he said.
Environmental experts warn that prolonged low water levels could damage fish habitats, reduce biodiversity, and place additional pressure on wildlife already coping with increasingly frequent heatwaves across Europe.
The unusually low river levels have also uncovered long-submerged historical relics.
In Croatia, the receding waters revealed a cargo vessel that sank in 1937, while eastern Serbia saw the reappearance of parts of a German river fleet deliberately scuttled in 1944 during the Second World War. The exposed wreckage now poses additional hazards for commercial navigation along the river.
In the Serbian capital, Belgrade, the dramatic transformation of the river has created unusual scenes. One riverside restaurant owner placed tables and chairs on rocks newly exposed in the middle of the Danube, turning a striking symbol of the drought into an impromptu outdoor dining area.
Serbia's Hydrometeorological Service expects water levels on the Danube to rise modestly in the coming days as rainfall upstream flows into the river basin.
However, hydrologists caution that any improvement is likely to be temporary if the current pattern of prolonged heat and below-average rainfall continues through the remainder of the summer.
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