Groundwater levels in Austria are reported as low or very low across approximately 70 percent of measuring points, according to Der Standard. Greenpeace noted that more than one in ten sites had reached a record low as of late April, following what was described as one of Austria’s driest Aprils since 1858. In certain areas, rainfall deficits reached up to minus 75 percent, with Upper Austria showing the most significant impact, where 36 percent of measuring points were at their lowest seasonal levels.
Salzburg and Carinthia reported deficits of 26 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Separately, three employees of the Russian embassy in Vienna were expelled on suspicion of espionage, according to ORF Vienna. Following investigations into suspected Russian spy equipment at the embassy and the diplomatic settlement, the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in mid-April.
After Russia declined to lift the employees’ immunity within a 14-day period, the three citizens departed Austria. This marks the fifteenth expulsion of Russian embassy personnel since the start of the Ukraine war. In education, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr identified weak German language skills as the most pressing issue in Austria’s education system, advocating for earlier German support beginning in kindergarten.
Furthermore, the article reported on various local developments, including a search operation in St. Pölten after children were seen near the Traisen river, and that the Interior Ministry was scheduled to present Austria’s 2025 Verfassungsschutzbericht.
Topics: #austria #low #levels
