Its about the lowest I have ever seen it for this time of the year. Must be a record.
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Are we on a magic mystery tour?
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omtatsat is always on a mystery tour, of their very own.
There is a spring drought, no doubt. The Rhine in Germany has already severe draft constraints for ships due to low water. Lack of snow and rain.
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The level of Lake Zurich is regulated by this structure near the Landesmuseum. So, people has a great influence on the lake level.
Monthly average of lake level show that level was indeed low for March 2025
Now comes the important part: why?
It could be that the lake level decreased because scarce rainfall and there’s a minimum flow to meet environmental guidelines (environmental flow). So, the structure controlling the lake level, needs to let water pass, then lake level goes down.
An alternative is that management of the lake level includes flooding control. So, the lake level is managed to the annual minimums because within a few weeks rain may thaw a lot of snow and ice in the mountains, then a lot of water will flow into Lake Zurich. Historical data shows that max levels have occurred during the month of May.
I have no time to check now, but maybe the snow cover upstream of Lake Zurich was significantly high this winter. Better to manage the lake to a lower level, so it can hold the flood induced by the oncoming snow melt.
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So, reject hypothesis two and confirmation that precipitation (rain & snow) has been scarce.
UK has record breaking low rain for March.
And how does that affect the Limmat exactly?
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Its just to say its not limited to the Limmat.
You’re right, it’s not. It is all over Switzerland. Here’s a look at “Bodensee” (canton Thurgau, for those who don’t know that lake).
scroll a little, there is a map as well.
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Dead algae and underwater plants decomposing have a particular aroma.