The drought in Europe and the ‘Hunger Stones’: “when you see me, weep”

Have you heard about "Hunger stones" ? They are rocks carved along some rivers across Central Europe, a kind of hydrological landmark, a warning for future generations. When the water level drops below a certain level, they would expose messages like “if you can read this, cry” (“Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine” in German), meaning that crop harvests could collapse, causing widespread hunger. Several rocks were carved like this from the 15th century on the Elbe river, but also on the Danube, Rhine, and Weser, in Germany and Czech Republic. Most of these rocks (if not all) have become visible in the ongoing drought. Click to read more, article ZME Science, including several other pictures, maps and references about the current situation. You can also read our posts about "Water" here, including recent ones about some European rivers like the Rhine (Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands) and Po (Italy). The river Loire (France), source of cooling water for 12 nuclear power plants, is also facing a historic drought, leaving several towns without proper access to drinking water.