The Netherlands' inland shipping is coping with low water levels in the Rhine river. As measured near the eastern town of Lobith, the influx of Rhine water into the country has gone down to 890 cubic metres per second, as opposed to the normal quantity of up to 2000 per second.

Only narrow, shallow waterways remain in the Rhine and its delta. Ships on the Ijssel river are not allowed to overtake for lack of space.

Houseboats are resting on the muddy river bed, and there is hardly any fish in rivers in the southern Netherlands. Weather forecasters expect no change in the coming days, as little rain is likely in the upper reaches of the Rhine.

The Rhine in wetter days (Photo: FlickR/ArnhemDirect)