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RiverCruise.ai — Live European River Levels

Measured every 30 minutes from official government gauges. Last updated .

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Live European river water levels

Current river conditions at a glance

RhineVery low6 gaugesMainLow2 gaugesMoselleBelow long-term average2 gaugesDanubeLow5 gauges

Low water is currently affecting the Rhine, the Main and the Danube. Most river cruises still operate — lines reroute, swap to sister ships, or move guests by coach between ports. Only your cruise line can tell you about your sailing.

Published by RiverCruise.ai, powered by FlyOver Travel — a licensed travel agency. Readings come from official government gauges and are updated every 30 minutes.

Where the gauges sit along each river

Schematic diagram ordered by river kilometre, not a geographic map. Dot colour is the gauge status; a hollow grey dot means the gauge has stopped reporting. Tap a dot for full detail.

RhineBaselKarlsruhe / MaxauKaubbottleneckCologneDuisburgEmmerichMainFrankfurtWurzburgMoselleCochemTrierDanubePassauHofkirchenPfelling / DeggendorfRegensburgKelheim
  • Good
  • Below long-term average
  • Low
  • Very low
  • High water
  • Not reporting
  • No reference published

RiverCruise.ai · live European river levels · 3 October 2026 · source: PEGELONLINE (WSV)

Recorded continuously since 18 Jul 2026.

Rhine

Rhine water levels: full river page

Kaub

Official gauge: KAUB · km 546.23

5cm

↑ +8 cm in 24h · ↑ +4 cm in 7 days

Very low
record low 25 cmGlWmean water 208 cm

Today 5 cm — below the record low of 25 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 19 cm · range -6–54 cm

20 cm BELOW the official record low of 25 cm set on 22 Oct 2018

Navigable depth here: about 118 cm— how this is worked out

Maintained fairway depth (190 cm) adjusted for today's reading against the official low-water reference GlW (77 cm). Published by WSV. This is the fairway, not a clearance for any particular ship.

The bottleneck - the gauge that decides Rhine sailings

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Basel

Official gauge: Basel-Rheinhalle · km 164.3

482cm

↓ −5 cm in 24h · ↓ −1 cm in 7 days

No official low-water reference published for this station
GlW
More detail

30-day average 487 cm · range 460–506 cm

Upper Rhine, start of most itineraries

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Karlsruhe / Maxau

Official gauge: MAXAU · km 362.327

300cm

↑ +17 cm in 24h · ↑ +4 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 231 cmGlWmean water 496 cm

Today 300 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 305 cm · range 278–337 cm

Navigable depth here: about 138 cm— how this is worked out

Maintained fairway depth (210 cm) adjusted for today's reading against the official low-water reference GlW (372 cm). Published by WSV. This is the fairway, not a clearance for any particular ship.

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Cologne

Official gauge: KÖLN · km 688

48cm

↑ +2 cm in 24h · ↑ +3 cm in 7 days

Very low
record low 69 cmGlWmean water 297 cm

Today 48 cm — below the record low of 69 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 63 cm · range 40–107 cm

21 cm BELOW the official record low of 69 cm set on 23 Oct 2018

Navigable depth here: about 159 cm— how this is worked out

Maintained fairway depth (250 cm) adjusted for today's reading against the official low-water reference GlW (139 cm). Published by WSV. This is the fairway, not a clearance for any particular ship.

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Duisburg

Official gauge: DUISBURG-RUHRORT · km 780.8

133cm

↑ +3 cm in 24h · ↑ +2 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 153 cmGlWmean water 394 cm

Today 133 cm — below the record low of 153 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 149 cm · range 120–198 cm

20 cm BELOW the official record low of 153 cm set on 23 Oct 2018

Navigable depth here: about 186 cm— how this is worked out

Maintained fairway depth (280 cm) adjusted for today's reading against the official low-water reference GlW (227 cm). Published by WSV. This is the fairway, not a clearance for any particular ship.

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Emmerich

Official gauge: EMMERICH · km 851.9

-17cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · ↑ +1 cm in 7 days

Very low
record low -1 cmGlWmean water 239 cm

Today -17 cm — below the record low of -1 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average -1 cm · range -29–46 cm

16 cm BELOW the official record low of -1 cm set on 18 Aug 2022

Navigable depth here: about 189 cm— how this is worked out

Maintained fairway depth (280 cm) adjusted for today's reading against the official low-water reference GlW (74 cm). Published by WSV. This is the fairway, not a clearance for any particular ship.

Last German gauge before the Dutch border

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Main

Main water levels: full river page

Frankfurt

Official gauge: FRANKFURT OSTHAFEN · km 37.591

151cm

↑ +3 cm in 24h · ↑ +7 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 142 cmmean water 177 cm

Today 151 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 152 cm · range 140–166 cm

9 cm above the record low of 142 cm (29 Jun 1976)

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Wurzburg

Official gauge: WÜRZBURG · km 251.97

132cm

↓ −11 cm in 24h · ↓ −7 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 116 cmmean water 174 cm

Today 132 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 143 cm · range 88–157 cm

16 cm above the record low of 116 cm (17 Jul 1934)

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Moselle

Moselle water levels: full river page

Cochem

Official gauge: Cochem · km 51.6

217cm

↓ −1 cm in 24h · ↓ −1 cm in 7 days

Below long-term average
More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 216 cm · range 208–223 cm

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Trier

Official gauge: Trier UP · km 195.3

221cm

↓ −3 cm in 24h · steady in 7 days

Below long-term average
record low 196 cmmean water 304 cm

Today 221 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 221 cm · range 215–228 cm

25 cm above the record low of 196 cm (29 Oct 2011)

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Danube

Danube water levels: full river page

Passau

Official gauge: PASSAU DONAU · km 2226.7

379cm

↑ +1 cm in 24h · ↓ −4 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 372 cmmean water 490 cm

Today 379 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 388 cm · range 368–436 cm

7 cm above the record low of 372 cm (6 Dec 1962)

German/Austrian border

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Hofkirchen

Official gauge: HOFKIRCHEN · km 2256.9

143cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · ↓ −4 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 155 cmmean water 290 cm

Today 143 cm — below the record low of 155 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 151 cm · range 135–175 cm

12 cm BELOW the official record low of 155 cm set on 15 Aug 2022

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Pfelling / Deggendorf

Official gauge: PFELLING · km 2305.5

209cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · ↓ −2 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 221 cmmean water 380 cm

Today 209 cm — below the record low of 221 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 217 cm · range 201–240 cm

12 cm BELOW the official record low of 221 cm set on 17 Aug 2022

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Regensburg

Official gauge: REGENSBURG EISERNE BRÜCKE · km 2379.3

186cm

↓ −2 cm in 24h · ↑ +3 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 184 cmmean water 244 cm

Today 186 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 187 cm · range 153–195 cm

2 cm above the record low of 184 cm (30 Aug 2015)

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Kelheim

Official gauge: KELHEIMWINZER · km 2409.7

256cm

↑ +4 cm in 24h · ↑ +3 cm in 7 days

Below long-term average
record low 250 cmmean water 292 cm

Today 256 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 253 cm · range 248–259 cm

6 cm above the record low of 250 cm (16 Aug 1998)

Start of the Main-Danube canal link

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

What these numbers mean

When water levels drop, river ships carry less weight and need more depth than the river offers in a few shallow spots. Cruise lines respond by swapping passengers between two ships, reversing or reshaping an itinerary, or coaching guests between ports for a day or two.

Most cruises still operate. Low water is a routine operational problem on European rivers, not a cancellation notice, and a single low gauge reading does not mean your sailing is affected.

Only the cruise line and the captain decide whether a ship sails. These are measured readings, published exactly as the gauge sent them — not forecasts and not predictions of what an operator will do.

LET US WATCH THE RIVERS FOR YOU

Reading gauges is the easy part — knowing what a given level means for your specific ship, cabin and sailing date is where experience matters. Our specialists monitor conditions for clients every day and help you choose lines built to handle changing water.

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