Stranded houseboats and grounded cruise ships: Europe’s rivers are shrinking amid heat and drought

Houseboats lie perched on desiccated riverbeds, receding water levels have left wide stretches of newly exposed riverbank and the shipping sector is bracing for trouble. The low-lying Netherlands is used to grappling with too much water; now it’s struggling with too little. On Thursday, the country declared an official water shortage, raising its national drought …