clipped from: www.dw-world.de   

Warming Rhine River poses environmental danger

Rhine river with a cargo ship and heavy industry in the background

Parts of the river reach an alarming 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit) during summer with the warmest temperatures measured between the cities of Mainz and Worms, said researchers.

A new study released by environment group BUND says the development is partly caused by global warming, but mostly by waste water pumped in by nuclear and coal-fired power plants that channel water off to cool the facilities and then pump it back into the main river.

"The waste heat from all German power plants would be enough to warm every single building in the country," say Joerg Nitsch of BUND.

"This gigantic waste of heat that the Rhine has to deal with shows how utterly inefficient producing electricity with coals and nuclear power is," he added.

The change is particularly dangerous for nature and wildlife in the river, especially for the salmon population which the government is trying to reintroduce to the river.