Marco Spiller stands at the edge of Lake Maggiore, looking out at the exposed, muddy shoreline in front of his bar, just a few kilometers east of Locarno. Normally, this spot is a popular destination for swimmers, with Latin music playing and cold beers ready for customers who come to enjoy hot dogs for 6 Swiss francs each. But this summer, the scene is far from typical. Due to an extended drought, the lake’s water level has dropped dramatically, revealing the lakebed and leaving swimmers to wade through thick mud to reach the water. Spiller has run the bar for 25 years, and he says the current conditions are hurting his business. “People aren’t coming because they have to walk through all this mud,” he says. July’s revenue was only half of what it usually is, and he fears that if the dry conditions continue, he may face serious cash flow problems in the coming years. Lake Maggiore is now approaching a record low for water levels in July, according to recent measurements. The drought is not isolated to this lake—similar issues are affecting other major bodies of water in Switzerland and Germany. On the Rhine River, water levels are so low that ships are carrying only a third of their usual cargo. Meanwhile, Lake Constance, another major waterway, has become so dry that its exposed shores are visible from space. These conditions are part of a broader trend of extreme drought affecting Europe, linked to prolonged heatwaves and reduced rainfall. Scientists warn that such events are becoming more frequent due to climate change, raising concerns about the long-term impact on ecosystems, transportation, and local economies that rely on these water sources.