Some of Switzerland's best-known lakes are at their lowest level ever for August after a dry year so far in 2022, the environment ministry said on Wednesday.

At the same time, discharge levels on the Rhine, one of Europe's major rivers which starts in the Swiss Alps, have never been so low in August since records began.

"There is a low water situation in Switzerland, especially on the central plateau and in the southern part of Ticino," the country's southernmost canton, said Michele Oberhansli, from the Federal Office for the Environment's hydrology division.

"The reason for the existing situation is a precipitation deficit in the whole year of 2022, which affects the whole of Switzerland, as well as many other European countries," she told AFP.

Soil moisture is down across the country and drought is affecting forests and agriculture, she said.

Lakes Constance, Lucerne, Lugano and Walen "are currently recording water levels that have never been so low in an August month since measurements began", said Oberhansli.

Meanwhile Lakes Zug and Maggiore "continue to show values well below average".

The shores of Lake Maggiore mark the lowest point in Switzerland, normally at 193 metres above sea level.

Except the lakes in the Jura region in the northwest and Lake Thun, the levels of all the other larger Swiss lakes are also below the long-term average.

- Rivers down, glaciers melting -

Meanwhile many Swiss rivers are recording readings that only occur once every two to 20 years.

"Discharge values on the Reuss and Rhine have never been so low since measurements began in August," said Oberhansli.

The hydrologist said rain over the coming days should "slightly alleviate" the low water and drought levels, but would "not yet be sufficient to ease the overall situation".

Following a dry winter, the summer heatwaves hitting Europe have been catastrophic for Switzerland's Alpine glaciers, which have been melting at an accelerated rate.

A layer of ice -- 15 metres thick in 2012 -- has covered the Tsanfleuron Pass between two glaciers since at least the Roman era.

But most of it has gone and the ice on the pass will have melted away completely by the end of September, a ski resort said last week.

UK's largest water provider calls for hose bans
London (AFP) Aug 17, 2022 - Britain's largest water provider on Wednesday became the latest UK supplier to announce restrictions on usage as swathes of England grapple with a punishing drought.

Thames Water, which supplies 15 million people in London and some surrounding counties, said the ban on hoses would begin on August 24.

It asked domestic customers not to use hoses for cleaning cars, watering gardens, filling paddling pools and swimming pools and cleaning windows.

Those flouting the rules could face fines.

It is reportedly the first such restriction imposed on the British capital in a decade.

The action comes after water providers in most of Wales, southern and southeast England imposed bans of their own, while suppliers in parts of southwest and northern England have announced imminent restrictions.

The measures take the total number of customers set to be under such bans by the end of next week to nearly 30 million.

It comes after a drought was officially declared across most of England last week following the driest July since 1935.

The country also saw its all-time temperature record smashed, surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in July.

Experts overwhelmingly agree that climate change caused by humans is driving extreme weather events like heatwaves and droughts, which are happening more frequently and are more severe.

Thames Water said last month was the driest July in its area since 1885, and that the River Thames had reached its lowest level in 17 years, starving reservoirs in the Thames Valley and London.

The source of the river in western England has shifted several miles downstream due to the arid conditions.

Multiple heatwaves over the summer have led to the highest demand for water in over 25 years, with spikes in some areas of 50 percent, the firm said.

Thames Water CEO Sarah Bentley said implementing the ban had been "a very difficult decision".

"Water resources in our region are depleted," she said.

"We now have to move into the next phase of our drought plan to conserve water, mitigate further risk and future-proof supplies."

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Rhine drops below crucial level, impacts river transport
Kaub, Germany (AFP) Aug 12, 2022
The Rhine river in Germany on Friday fell below a key waterline level used as a reference for judging its accessibility for shipping. The water dropped below the 40-centimetre (15.7-inch) reference level in Kaub, a noted bottleneck for shipping where the Rhine runs narrow and shallow. That level is considered necessary for much of the transport along the river. But it fell to 38 cm in the early evening in Kaub, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Koblenz, and was expected to fall further ... read more