Heightened concern arises about unnaturally low water levels in the Vistula River at the Warsaw Bulwars, but despite suspicions of deliberate media hyping, the reading is accurate and not indicative of a conspiracy.
Extreme Low Water Levels in Warsaw
August’s heat and dry weather have exacerbated the drought across much of Poland. In many rivers, including the Vistula, water levels are at record lows. The most frequently cited measurement is taken at the Warsaw Bulwars, where levels dropped to 6 cm in recent days.
Scientific Explanation Key
The river gauge level of 6 cm does not indicate that the water’s depth in that location is 6 cm. This measurement is taken from a fixed point for each gauge as opposed to the river’s bottom, which is not constant.
Scientists from Warsaw University’s Hydrology Department and Water Survey Tech company completed precise measurements of the Vistula’s riverbed level at the gauge site last week. As evidenced in the cross-section profile of the river, the maximum depth of the Vistula exceeds 3.5 meters at current water levels. The gauge’s zero point is significantly higher than the riverbed’s lowest point.
Nationwide Water Levels at Historic Lows
Across Poland, 23 water level monitoring stations are recording historic lows. The southernmost station in Nadwilanówka is measuring 34 cm of water, while the northernmost Modlin gauge is at 199 cm, which is the lowest recorded level for that measurement point since 1926.
