These scenes multiplied during the summer. In France, the almost empty Loire has revealed the scars of an unprecedented drought. In China, the Yangtze River, one of the country’s main drinking water reservoirs, has also shown cracked soil in many places. Now it is the turn of the iconic Mississippi, which cuts through a large part of the United States, to bear the brunt of global warming. The river cruise company, Viking, has just sounded the alarm in a press release on its website this Wednesday about very low river levels. As a direct result for the company. he cannot continue one of his trips, which was to go up north of the Mississippi.
“Unusually low water levels along the Mississippi have closed sections of the river, affecting northbound and southbound marine traffic.”, Viking explains. As the company reveals, the US Army Corps of Engineers, which specializes in civil engineering and military logistics, is currently working to deepen certain sections of the shipping channel. Major infrastructure work that would prevent one of the company’s ships from reaching St. Paul, Minnesota. The latter, therefore, will not be able to secure its next trip, the departure of which was scheduled for October 15 and which was supposed to connect Saint-Paul to New Orleans.
Abnormal drought
This cruise line is not the only victim of the Mississippi drying up. According to CNN, low river levels in the US have led to several boat collisions over the past week. It is a big problem, while some of the surrounding areas are in harvest season. The National Integrated Drought Information System, which records the level of drought in the country, has issued a warning signal on its website. As of October 4, 2022, 44.04% of the United States was in a drought. More specifically with the “abnormal drought” seen around the Great Plains and Mississippi Basin. The phenomenon has already reached other American territories, for example, the Midwest.
And the situation does not seem to improve soon. According to the latest weather forecast, no rain is expected in major cities bordering the Mississippi anytime soon. The current phenomenon is only a sad consequence of what was observed in the country during the summer. Like France, the US has had severe wildfires in northern California. They even threatened Yosemite National Park. Recently, Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Source: Le Figaro
