Severe droughts across Europe are debilitating major shipping routes and pushing up costs for everyday goods as water levels plummet on critical waterways, according to reporting in The Guardian.

Water levels in parts of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers are likely to reach critically low stages soon, forcing shippers to light-load harvest-season grain barges for the fourth year in a row.

Pictured is the Dunk River in central P.E.I., fed in part by its major tributary, the Southwest Brook. Provincial officials are monitoring the brook closely to see if water levels are approaching the ...