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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 gaugesMainBelow normal2 gaugesMoselleBelow normal2 gaugesDanubeLow5 gauges

Low water is currently affecting the Rhine 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 normal
  • Low
  • Very low
  • High water
  • Not reporting

RiverCruise.ai · live European river levels · 19 August 2026 · source: PEGELONLINE (WSV)

Recorded continuously since 18 Jul 2026.

Rhine

Kaub

Official gauge: KAUB · km 546.23

14cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · ↑ +2 cm in 7 days

Very low
record low 25 cmGlWmean water 208 cm

Today 14 cm — below the record low of 25 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 30 cm · range 5–90 cm

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

Navigable depth here: about 127 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

497cm

↓ −4 cm in 24h · ↑ +6 cm in 7 days

Below normal
GlW
More detail

30-day average 493 cm · range 475–517 cm

Upper Rhine, start of most itineraries

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Karlsruhe / Maxau

Official gauge: MAXAU · km 362.327

336cm

↑ +11 cm in 24h · ↑ +31 cm in 7 days

Below normal
record low 231 cmGlWmean water 496 cm

Today 336 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 319 cm · range 292–386 cm

Navigable depth here: about 174 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

↑ +4 cm in 24h · ↓ −7 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 72 cm · range 44–123 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

132cm

↑ +3 cm in 24h · ↓ −4 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 153 cmGlWmean water 394 cm

Today 132 cm — below the record low of 153 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 157 cm · range 126–206 cm

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

Navigable depth here: about 185 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

-21cm

↑ +7 cm in 24h · ↓ −11 cm in 7 days

Very low
record low -1 cmGlWmean water 239 cm

Today -21 cm — below the record low of -1 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 7 cm · range -28–44 cm

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

Navigable depth here: about 185 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

Frankfurt

Official gauge: FRANKFURT OSTHAFEN · km 37.591

157cm

↑ +4 cm in 24h · steady in 7 days

Below normal
record low 142 cmmean water 177 cm

Today 157 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 155 cm · range 145–164 cm

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

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Wurzburg

Official gauge: WÜRZBURG · km 251.97

142cm

↑ +9 cm in 24h · ↓ −5 cm in 7 days

Good
More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 142 cm · range 90–159 cm

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Moselle

Cochem

Official gauge: Cochem · km 51.6

217cm

↑ +2 cm in 24h · ↓ −1 cm in 7 days

Below normal
More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 217 cm · range 208–226 cm

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Trier

Official gauge: Trier UP · km 195.3

222cm

↑ +1 cm in 24h · ↑ +5 cm in 7 days

Below normal
record low 196 cmmean water 304 cm

Today 222 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 219 cm · range 214–231 cm

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

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Danube

Passau

Official gauge: PASSAU DONAU · km 2226.7

399cm

steady in 24h · ↑ +9 cm in 7 days

Below normal
record low 372 cmmean water 490 cm

Today 399 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 393 cm · range 375–430 cm

27 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

144cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · steady in 7 days

Low
record low 155 cmmean water 290 cm

Today 144 cm — below the record low of 155 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 151 cm · range 127–185 cm

11 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

214cm

↑ +19 cm in 24h · ↑ +9 cm in 7 days

Low
record low 221 cmmean water 380 cm

Today 214 cm — below the record low of 221 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: low

30-day average 217 cm · range 189–259 cm

7 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

195cm

↑ +8 cm in 24h · ↑ +9 cm in 7 days

Below normal
record low 184 cmmean water 244 cm

Today 195 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 187 cm · range 151–197 cm

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

Source: PEGELONLINE · measured · Full detail

Kelheim

Official gauge: KELHEIMWINZER · km 2409.7

258cm

↑ +5 cm in 24h · ↑ +8 cm in 7 days

Below normal
record low 250 cmmean water 292 cm

Today 258 cm

More detail

PEGELONLINE classifies this as: normal

30-day average 252 cm · range 247–262 cm

8 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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