Europe’s long drought of 2011

In 2011, after months of little or no rain in central and eastern Europe, water levels on some parts of the Danube River fell to their lowest level in 70 years.

It’s one of Europe’s busiest shipping routes, but in November of that year, traffic ground to a halt on major sections of the Danube, and on the Serbia-Hungary border dozen of cargo ships were stranded.

In Romania, one of the country’s nuclear power stations was at risk of shutdown because of insufficient water for cooling, and in Serbia the drought revealed sunken World War Two ships and unexploded bombs.

In the lower Danube, low water levels also caused a decrease in bird and fish populations.

Kristian Yakimov, an ecologist and tourist guide in Bulgaria, speaks to Jacqueline Paine.

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(Photo: Cracked, muddy ground at the river bank of the Danube river. Credit: Alexanda Rilich/Getty Images)