Critical water shortage and drought threaten western Ukraine: environmental disaster looms in several regions. MAP

The water levels in some rivers at the end of August 2026 are causing concern amongst experts. Due to a further drop in water levels, a Level III alert has been declared in certain regions.

This was reported by Censor.NET, citing a post by the press office of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre on Facebook.

Details

Between 26 and 31 August, water levels in a number of rivers across Ukraine are expected to fall further to historic lows or below.

This situation affects the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi and Volyn regions.

Finally, the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre reported that in certain sections of small rivers, the drop in water levels could lead to a complete absence of flow. This will result in "complications for the functioning of the water management system".