The Rhine River flows through six European countries and has been used to transport people and produce for thousands of years.
But weeks of high temperatures and little or no rainfall have made it impassable for heavily laden ships.
It is a main waterway for transporting coal, iron and other natural resources, and the lower the water level, the less cargo that can be carried on ships travelling its course.
Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane reports from Cologne.

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