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Record-low water levels on the Danube River reveal World War II shipwrecks and ancient mammoth bones

Extreme drought and heatwaves have pushed the Danube River to record-low water levels, exposing long-submerged relics across Europe. In Serbia, the receding water has revealed dozens of World War II German battleships that were deliberately scuttled in 1944 to slow Soviet advances. These vessels, some still laden with explosives, have remained largely submerged due to their heavy armament. Simultaneously, the river's low levels have unveiled archaeological treasures in Bulgaria and Hungary. In northern Bulgaria, Nikolay Nenov, director of the Regional Historical Museum, confirmed the discovery of well-preserved bones belonging to a single woolly mammoth. In Hungary, the riverbed has revealed a catapult projectile and a cargo ship from 1937. The drought is also creating significant logistical challenges, forcing power plants to shut down and disrupting river traffic. Experts attribute these conditions to the human-driven climate crisis, noting that intense evaporation caused by fossil fuel use has made such severe droughts up to 80 times more likely than previous eras.

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