Climate crisis causes Tille river to become mass grave for fish

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Aug 2022 11:39

As climate change exacerbates worsening conditions across the globe, drought becomes an impeding threat across Europe, affecting economies, agriculture, and most aquatic life.

Dried-up Tille River in Lux, France (AP)

The Tille river of Lux in France's Burgundy region has become a mass grave for fish buried in white dust, as Europe faces an unprecedented drought, exhibiting the aftermath of global warming's catastrophes.

As reservoirs in Spain are drying out, and water levels are falling in major arteries like the Danube and the Rhine, nearly half of the European continent is at knifepoint. The crisis is damaging farm economies, forcing water restrictions, causing wildfires, and threatening aquatic species.

The dry spell is anticipated to continue in what experts consider to be the worst drought in 500 years, with no significant rainfall for almost two months in most of Europe. The last extreme drought was in 2018, but it pales in comparison to this year.

Species will gradually disappear

Climate change is accelerating conditions as temperatures continue to rise exponentially, thus speeding up evaporation by which dehydrated plants take in more moisture, while reduced snowfall in the winter limits supplies of fresh water available for watering in the summer.

Europe isn't alone in the crisis, as East Africa, the western United States (California is among the top sufferers), and northern Mexico have reported facing severe droughts as well. Cities are becoming forced to restrict the limit of water usage per household, while famine becomes a potential threat for both global poles.

Jean-Philippe Couasné, chief technician at the local Federation for Fishing and Protection of the Aquatic Environment, listed species of fish that had died in the Tille as he walked the 15-meter-wide riverbed, expressing a feeling of heartbreak. "On average, about 8,000 liters (about 2,100 gallons) per second are flowing. ... And now, zero liters," he said.

Without rain, the river "will continue to empty. And yes, all fish will die [...] They are trapped upstream and downstream, there's no water coming in, so the oxygen level will keep decreasing as the (water) volume will go down," Couasné said. "These are species that will gradually disappear."

If no action is taken, hope is out of the picture

Jean-Pierre Sonvico, the regional head of the federation, even left little for hope, commenting that diverting the fish to other rivers won't be of much help because those waterways also are impacted by the drought, which will eventually lead to overcrowding and more species dying. In some areas upstream, some of the trout and other freshwater species are able to take shelter in pools via fish ladders, but unfortunately, that may not be available everywhere.

"Yes, it's dramatic because what can we do? Nothing," he said. "We're waiting, hoping for storms with rain, but storms are very local so we can't count on it."

The European Commission's Joint Research Center warned this week of drought conditions worsening and potentially affecting 47% of the continent. Oceans are not exempt either, as they face their own fate, caused by human error.

Andrea Toreti, a senior researcher at the European Drought Observatory, said for the next three months, "we see still a very high risk of dry conditions over Western and Central Europe, as well as the UK."

Meteorologist Peter Hoffmann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research near Berlin referred to the current situation as a result of long and gradual buildups of dry weather caused by changes in world weather systems, noting that it is in the summertime that the impact is felt the most.

Climate change has not only lessened the temperature differences between regions but has sapped the forces that drive the jet stream, which normally brings wet Atlantic weather to Europe.