Lower thirds:

0:03  Report by / Mark Espiner
0:45  Andreas Bartel / Duisburg Harbor Spokesperson
1:40  Oliver Krischer / Minister of the Environment and Transportation of NRW

Script:

It is, according to the great German romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin "the noblest of rivers the free-born Rhine"

But a sustained heatwave and little precipitation have brought this mighty river low. Dangerously low. Posing major challenges for German industry.

A week ago, it was the exposure of wrecks and war debris, including this bomb on the river bank in Cologne.

But now commercial shipping along the full length of the Rhine River could soon become impossible.

The current level is already threatening the economy and logistics sector, which depends on the waterway for supply chain efficiency. 

+++SOT+++
((SPOKESPERSON FOR DUISBURG HARBOUR, ANDREAS BARTEL))
"Yes, it is of course a very challenging situation. We have record low levels  on the Rhine and also in the harbour. That means it presents us with big challenges that we have to overcome."
+++

Other supporting transportation methods are also fragile ... it seems the only plan is to wait for rain.

+++SOT+++
((SPOKESPERSON FOR DUISBURG HARBOUR, ANDREAS BARTEL))
"We are actually already at the point where not much more is needed before nothing works at all, and currently it is always difficult to make forecasts over a longer period. But we probably won't be able to really breathe a sigh of relief again until around mid to late September, when significantly more rainfall is to be expected again."
+++

The danger of the river becoming unnavigable now seems all too real. North Rhine-Westphalia's transportation Minister is calling for more funding from the federal government to tackle the problem.

+++SOT+++
((Oliver Krischer, Minister of the Environment and Transportation of North Rhine-Westphalia:))
"Scientists warned as long as 20 years ago that the Rhine could carry very little water, or in extreme cases even run dry. We are now seeing that such scenarios, which were merely laughed at in the past, are now threatening to become a reality. The climate crisis is hitting us with full force, and that is why we must take action on climate protection."
+++

As climate change induced heat waves ravage Europe with wildfires, the Rhine, a key artery for many industries in Germany, is drying up.