Germany’s Falling River Rhine Adds to Shipping and Economic Woes

Vladimir Putin has loomed large in the gas-supply crisis threatening some of Germany’s biggest industrial players. The next act in the drama gripping Europe’s biggest economy will pit its manufacturing titans against an even more unpredictable opponent: mother nature.

Water levels in the River Rhine — an essential supply route for factories in Germany’s manufacturing heartlands — have fallen to their lowest levels for this time of year since comparable records began.