> Huss says glaciers are essential to feeding Europe’s freshwater rivers, which provide drinking water to millions, especially in the summer months when there i

> Huss says glaciers are essential to feeding Europe’s freshwater rivers, which provide drinking water to millions, especially in the summer months when there is less rainfall. “The summer is when we need the water in the lowlands.” he says, “If the glaciers are gone, this can have really serious consequences.” The Rhine [1] is currently carrying so little water [2] that tankers can't transport normal payloads and fewer ships can travel along the river due to a very low water level. This created a situation where gas stations are empty [3] due to those logistical impairments. I wonder how exactly this might be connected to glaciers leaving. The news are mostly covering this inconvenience from a consumer service perspective instead of linking it to climate change symptoms. It is also a good reminder for how suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere the situation can go from normal to chaos. Most people cannot imagine anything except normality (you need food? you go to a shop. you are ill? you visit the doctor. you are victim of a crime? you call the police.). Civilized normality seems rather like a very thin layer concealing the raw forces of a brutal nature. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine [2]: https://www.aachener-nachrichten.de/nrw-region/wasserstand-im-rhein-an-einigen-stellen-so-niedrig-wie-nie-gemessen_aid-33688667 https://www.aachener-nachrichten.de/nrw-region/wasserstand-i... [3]: https://www.waz.de/region/niederrhein/wegen-ebbe-im-rhein-kein-sprit-an-duisburger-tankstellen-id215725667.html https://www.waz.de/region/niederrhein/wegen-ebbe-im-rhein-ke...