2026年8月4日 / 美国东部时间下午3:23 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
作为欧洲第二长河，多瑙河因干旱水位大幅下降，数十艘二战德国战舰的残骸——甚至还有一具古代长毛猛犸象的遗骸——正逐渐露出水面。
这些残骸为今夏的高温危机增添了一桩怪事。多瑙河创纪录的低水位还迫使多家发电厂濒临关停，中东欧各国政府纷纷采取措施节约电力。
在塞尔维亚与罗马尼亚交界的河段、塞尔维亚普拉霍沃港附近，一艘锈迹斑斑的船体如今已清晰可见，船上断裂的桅杆曾悬挂过纳粹旗帜。
这些部分仍装载着武器的船只，属于纳粹德国黑海舰队。二战末期德军从罗马尼亚撤退、苏军向欧洲腹地推进时，他们故意将这些战舰凿沉。
2026年7月30日，塞尔维亚普拉霍沃，因干旱和酷暑导致多瑙河水位下降，一艘二战德国沉船露出水面。乔尔杰·科亚迪诺维奇 / 路透社 无人机拍摄
如今在普拉霍沃河岸，用肉眼就能看到至少20艘大小不一的二战沉船残骸。
伊维察·加夫里洛维奇一生都住在多瑙河畔，他表示民众对这些沉船的兴趣很高，但打捞仍困难重重。“大家至今都不知道该如何靠近这些船只，”他当时正载着一家三口乘坐自己的小船出游。
历史学家表示，1944年9月，在苏军炮火的攻击下，多达200艘德国战舰在普拉霍沃附近的多瑙河峡谷中被凿沉。当时德军此举旨在延缓苏军在巴尔干地区的推进速度，但纳粹德国最终还是在数月后的1945年5月投降了。
这些老旧战舰的重现，让人们想起塞尔维亚政府一直在欧盟资金支持下尝试处理这些沉船。南斯拉夫共产党当局曾将部分沉船从河中打捞出水，但大多数残骸因携带爆炸物仍留在原地。
2026年7月30日，塞尔维亚普拉霍沃，人们在因干旱和酷暑露出水面的二战德国沉船附近游泳。乔尔杰·科亚迪诺维奇 / 路透社 无人机拍摄
不过眼下，当局正努力维持多瑙河的通航——这条河流经10个国家——水位下降已造成危险的通航环境。专家将此次异常高温与全球变暖等因素联系在一起。
普拉霍沃居民克斯塔·布兰迪奇表示，低水位几乎让航运陷入停滞：“正如你所见，（大型）船只已经无法通行了。”
这些老旧战舰并非首次露出水面。2024年夏季遭遇严重干旱后，一批仍装载着爆炸物的纳粹沉船在多瑙河现身。2022年水位跌至历史低点时，普拉霍沃附近也出现了多艘散落的纳粹德国黑海舰队船只。
猛犸象骸骨在干涸河床上被发现
与此同时，保加利亚当地一家博物馆馆长告诉法新社，多瑙河水位下降还让该国境内的猛犸象骸骨重见天日。
地区历史博物馆馆长尼古拉·涅诺夫表示，在东北部城市鲁塞附近发现的骨碎片“极有可能”属于冰河时期的长毛猛犸象。
涅诺夫说，目前专家已从这批遗骸中识别出一块下颌骨、几块象牙碎片、一部分肩胛骨，以及一块带有关节头的股骨。
2026年7月29日发布的这张手绘图显示，在保加利亚斯利沃波莱自治区里亚霍沃村附近的河床上，历史学家认为是古代猛犸象的遗骸因多瑙河水位降至历史低点而露出水面。柳博斯拉夫·约尔丹诺夫/斯利沃波莱自治区/路透社 供图
他补充说，这头猛犸象据信是幼崽，骸骨的深色可能表明它曾在沼泽环境中生活了很长时间。
这批骸骨是一项重要发现，因为它们保存完好，“与此前许多零散的发现不同……这批骸骨集中在同一地点”，说明它们都属于同一只动物，涅诺夫说道。
长毛猛犸象曾与早期人类共存，人类猎杀这种耐寒食草动物作为食物，并用它们的象牙和骨骼制作工具。
这类动物约在4000年前灭绝。数十年来，科学家们一直在收集零散的猛犸象象牙、骨骼、牙齿和毛发。
2026年7月29日发布的这张手绘图显示，在保加利亚斯利沃波莱自治区里亚霍沃村附近的河床上，历史学家认为是古代猛犸象的遗骸因多瑙河水位降至历史低点而露出水面。柳博斯拉夫·约尔丹诺夫/斯利沃波莱自治区/路透社 供图
As the Danube River dries up, World War II shipwrecks and mammoth bones come into view
August 4, 2026 / 3:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships — and even the remains of an ancient woolly mammoth — are emerging into view.
They are a curious distraction from the summer heat crisis. The Danube’s record-low water levels have also forced power plants to the brink of shutting down, and governments across Central and Eastern Europe are taking steps to conserve electricity.
In the middle of the river separating Serbia and Romania, near the Serbian port of Prahovo, a rusty hull is now visible, along with a broken mast where the Nazi flag once flew.
The ships, some still laden with weapons, belonged to Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet that the Germans deliberately sank as they retreated from Romania and as Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe near the end of the war.
A drone view shows a sunken German warship from World War II, exposed due to low Danube River levels caused by drought and extreme heat, in Prahovo, Serbia, July 30, 2026. Djordje Kojadinovic / REUTERS
At least 20 World War II wrecks of various sizes are now visible to the naked eye from the banks of Prahovo.
Ivica Gavrilovic, who has spent his whole life living beside the Danube, said the interest in the wrecks was high but access remained difficult. “People still don’t know how to access the ships themselves,” he said, while taking a family of three out on his small boat.
Historians say up to 200 German warships were scuttled in September 1944 near Prahovo in the Danube gorge as they came under Soviet fire. The idea behind the deliberate sinking was to slow down the Soviet advance in the Balkans. But Nazi Germany surrendered months later, in May 1945.
The sight of the old warships is a reminder that the Serbian government, with European Union financial support, has long been trying to do something about them. Some were removed from the river by Communist Yugoslav authorities, but most have remained because of the explosives they carried.
A drone view shows people swimming near a sunken German warship from World War II, exposed due to low Danube River levels caused by drought and extreme heat, in Prahovo, Serbia, July 30, 2026. Djordje Kojadinovic / REUTERS
Now, however, authorities are trying to keep traffic flowing on the Danube, which flows through 10 nations, as the dropping water levels create dangerous conditions. Experts have linked the unusually hot weather to global warming and other factors.
Krsta Brandic, a Prahovo resident, said the low water levels have almost stopped ship traffic: “As you can see, the (big) ships can’t pass anymore.”
The old vessels have emerged before. In 2024, a trove of sunken Nazi ships, still decked out with explosives, emerged in the Danube following a blistering summer drought. Dozens of scattered ships operated by Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet alsoappeared in 2022 near Prahovoafter water levels reached record lows.
Mammoth bones found on parched riverbed
Meanwhile, falling water levels in the Danube unveiled bones of a mammoth in Bulgaria, a local museum director told AFP.
The bone fragments found near the northeastern city of Ruse “very likely” belonged to a woolly mammoth that lived during the Ice Age, said Nikolay Nenov, director of the Regional Historical Museum.
Specialists have so far identified a jawbone, fragments of tusks, part of a shoulder blade, and a femur with its articular head among the stash, Nenov said.
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River’s water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The animal is thought to have been young and the dark color of the bones may indicate that it spent a lot of time in a marshy environment, he added.
The bones are an important discovery because they are well preserved and “unlike many previous discoveries … were concentrated in the same place,” indicating that they all belonged to the same animal, Nenov said.
Woolly mammoths coexisted with early humans who hunted the cold-resistant herbivores for food and used their tusks and bones as tools.
The animals died out about 4,000 years ago. For decades, scientists have been recovering bits and pieces of mammoth tusks, bones, teeth and hair.
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River’s water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
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